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BOTH  THOUSAND. 
THE 


FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 


BEING  A 


PLAIN  EXPOSITION  AND  VINDICATION 


OF 


BY 

MOST  REV.  JAMES  GIBBONS,  D.D 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE. 


Sixteenth  Carefully  Revised  and  Enlarged 


BALTIMORE: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  MURPHY  &  Co 

LONDON:  K.  WASHBOURNE. 

1880. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  Of  Congress^  in  the  year  1879,  by 

JOHN    MUBPHY, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


V 


AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 

TO  THE 

CLEEGY  AND  LAITY 

OF  THE 

ARCHDIOCESE   AND   PROVINCE   OF  BALTIMORBo 


PEEFACE 

To  THE  ELEVENTH  EDITION. 


E  first  edition  of  "  The  Faith  of  our  Fathers  "  was 
issued  in  December,  1876.  From  that  time  to  the 
present  fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  work  have  been 
disposed  of  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  and  in  the  British  Colonies  of  Oceanica. 

This  gratifying  result  has  surpassed  the  author's 
most  sanguine  expectations,  and  is  a  consoling  evi 
dence  that  the  investigation  of  religious  truths  is  not 
wholly  neglected,  even  in  this  iron  age,  so  much  en 
grossed  by  material  considerations. 

Besides  carefully  revising  the  book,  the  author  has 
profited  by  the  kind  suggestion  of  some  friends,  by 
inserting  a  chapter  on  the  prerogatives  and  sanctity 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  not 
less  acceptable  to  his  readers  than  the  other  portions 
of  the  work. 

He  is  also  happy  to  announce  that  German  Editions 
have  been  published  both  in  this  country  and  in  Ger 
many. 

He  takes  this  occasion  to  return  his  hearty  thanks 
to  the  editors  of  the  Catholic  periodicals,  as  well  as  of 
the  secular  press,  for  their  favorable  notices,  which 
have  no  doubt  contributed  much  to  the  large  circula 
tion  of  the  book. 

BALTIMORE,  Feast  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  1879. 


PREFACE. 

object  of  this  little  volume  is  to  present,  in 
a  plain  and  practical  form,  an  exposition  and 
a  vindication  of  the  principal  tenets  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

It  was  thought  sufficient  to  devote  but  a  brief 
space  to  such  Catholic  doctrines  and  practices  as  are 
happily  admitted  by  Protestants,  while  those  which 
are  controverted  by  them  are  more  elaborately  elu 
cidated. 

The  work  was  compiled  by  the  author  during  the 
uncertain  hours  which  he  could  spare  from  tne  more 
active  duties  of  the  ministry. 

It  substantially  embodies  the  instructions  and  dis 
courses  delivered  by  him  before  mixed  congrega 
tions  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

He  has  often  felt  that  the  salutary  influence  of 
such  instructions,  especially  on  the  occasion  of  a 
mission  in  the  rural  districts,  would  be  much  aug 
mented  if  they  were  supplemented  by  books  or 
tracts  which  would  be  circulated  among  the  people, 
and  could  be  read  and  pondered  at  leisure. 

As  his  chief  aim  has   been  to  bring  home  the 


viii  *  PREFACE. 

truths  of  the  Catholic  faith  to  our  separated  breth 
ren,  who  generally  accept  the  Scripture  as  the  only 
source  of  authority  in  religious  matters,  he  has  en 
deavored  to  fortify  his  statements  by  abundant  ref 
erence  to  the  sacred  text.  He  has  thought  proper, 
however,  to  add  frequent  quotations  from  the  early 
Fathers,  whose  testimony,  at  least  as  witnesses  of  the 
faith  of  their  times,  must  be  accepted  even  by  those 
who  call  in  question  their  personal  authority. 

Though  the  writer  has  sought  to  be  exact  in  all 
his  assertions,  an  occasional  inaccuracy  may  have 
inadvertently  crept  in.  Any  emendations  which 
the  venerated  Prelates  or  Clergy  may  deign  to 
propose,  will  be  gratefully  attended  to  in  a  subse 
quent  edition. 

RICHMOND,  Nov.  21st,  1876. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER 

Introduction 11 

I.  The  Blessed  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  etc 19 

II.  Unity  of  the  Church 23 

III.  Holiness  of  the  Church 35 

IV.  Catholicity 50 

V.  Apostolicity 58 

VI.  Perpetuity  of  the  Church 71 

VII.  Infallible  Authority  of  the  Church 85 

VIII.  The  Church  and  the  Bible 97 

IX.  The  Primacy  of  Peter 117 

X.  The  Supremacy  of  the  Pope , 132 

XI.  Infallibility  of  the  Popes 145 

XII.  Temporal  Power  of  the  Popes  —  How  they  ac 
quired  Temporal  Power  —  Validity  and  Jus 
tice  of  their  Title  —  What  the  Popes  have 
done  for  Rome 162 

XIII.  Invocation  of  Saints. 181 

XIV.  Is  it  Lawful  to  Honor  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary^ 

as  a  Saint;  to  Invoke  her  as  an  Intercessor, 
and  to  Imitate  her  as  a  Model? 194 

XV.  Sacred  Images 232 

XVI.  Purgatory,  and  Prayers  for  the  Dead 247 

XVII.  Civil  and  Eeligious  Liberty 264 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII.  Charges  of  Keligious  Persecution 284 

XIX.  Grace  —  The  Sacraments  —  Original  Sin  — 
Baptism  —  Its  Necessity  —  Its  Effects  — 
Manner  of  Baptizing 303 

XX.  The  Sacrament  of  Confirmation 320 

XXI.  The  Holy  Eucharist 327 

XXII.  Communion  under  One  Kind 341 

XXIII.  The  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 349 

XXIV.  The  Use  of   Keligious  Ceremonies  Dictated 

by  Eight  Keason —  Approved  by  Almighty 
God  in  the  Old  Law  —  Sanctioned  by  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  New ...  365 

XXV.  Ceremonies  of  the  Mass  —  The  Missal  —  Latin 
Language  —  Lights  — Flowers  — Incense  — 
Vestments 372 

XXVI.  The  Sacrament  of  Penance 385 

XXVII.  Indulgences 427 

XXVIII.  Extreme  Unction 437 

XXIX.  The  Priesthood .' 440 

XXX.  Celibacy  of  the  Clergy 453 

XXXI.  Matrimony 464 


INTRODUCTION. 

TUTY  DEAR  READER.— Perhaps  this  is  the  first 
•*?*••-  time  in  your  life  that  you  have  handled  a  book 
in  which  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church  are 
expounded  by  one  of  her  own  sons.  You  have,  no 
doubt,  heard  and  read  many  things  regarding  our 
Church ;  but  has  not  your  information  come  from 
teachers  justly  liable  to  suspicion  ?  You  asked  for 
bread  and  they  gave  you  a  stone.  You  asked  for 
fish  and  they  reached  you  a  serpent.  Instead  of  the 
bread  of  truth,  they  extended  to  you  the  serpent  of 
falsehood.  Hence,  without  intending  to  be  unjust, 
is  not  your  mind  biased  against  us  because  you 
listened  to  false  witnesses?  This,  at  least,  is  the 
case  with  thousands  of  my  countrymen  whom  I  have 
met  in  the  brief  course  of  my  missionary  career. 
The  Catholic  Church  is  persistently  misrepresented 
by  the  most  powerful  vehicles  of  information. 

She  is  attacked  in  romances  of  the  stamp  of  Maria 
Monk ;  in  pictorials,  like  Harper's  ;  in  histories,  so 
called  like  those  of  Peter  Parley.  In  a  large  por 
tion  of  the  press,  and  in  pamphlets,  and  especially 
in  the  pulpit,  which  should  be  consecrated  to  truth 
and  charity,  she  is  the  victim  of  the  foulest  slanders, 

11 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Upon  her  fair  and  heavenly  brow  her  enemies  out 
a  hideous  mask,  and  in  that  guise  they  exhibit  her 
to  the  insults  and  mockery  of  the  public ;  just  as 
Jesus,  her  spouse,  was  treated  when  He  was  clothed 
with  a  scarlet  cloak  and  crowned  with  thorns,  and, 
thus  disfigured,  was  mocked  by  a  thoughtless  rabble. 
They  are  afraid  to  tell  the  truth  of  her,  for 

"Truth  has  such  a  face  and  such  a  mien 
As  to  be  loved  needs  only  to  be  seen."  * 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  a  dialogue  like  the  fol 
lowing  to  take  place  between  a  Protestant  Minister 
and  a  convert  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

MINISTER. —  You  cannot  deny  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  teaches  gross  errors, —  the  worship 
of  images,  for  instance. 

CONVERT. —  I  admit  no  such  charge,  for  I  have 
been  taught  no  such  doctrines. 

MINISTER. —  But  the  priest  who  instructed  you, 
did  not  teach  you  all.  He  held  back  some  points 
which  he  knew  would  be  objectionable  to  you. 

CONVERT. —  He  withheld  nothing;  for  I  am  in 
possession  of  books  treating  fully  of  all  Catholic 
doctrines. 

MINISTER. —  Deluded  soul!  Don't  you  know  that 
in  Europe  they  are  taught  differently? 

1  DRYDEN. — Hind  and  Panther. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

CONVERT. —  That  cannot  be,  for,  the  Church 
teaches  the  same  creed  all  over  the  world,  and 
most  of  the  doctrinal  books  which  I  read,  were 
originally  published  in  Europe. 

^et  ministers  who  make  these  slanderous  state 
ments  are  surprised  if  we  feel  indignant,  and  accuse 
us  of  being  too  sensitive.  We  have  been  vilified  so 
long,  that  they  think  we  have  no  right  to  complain. 

We  cannot  exaggerate  the  offence  of  those  who 
thus  wilfully  malign  the  Church.  There  is  a  com 
mandment  which  says :  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness  against  thy  neighbor." 

If  it  is  a  sin  to  bear  false  testimony  against  one 
individual,  how  can  we  characterize  the  crime  of 
those  who  calumniate  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
millions  of  human  beings,  by  attributing  to  them  doc 
trines  and  practices  which  they  repudiate  and  abhor?, 

I  do  not  wonder  that  the  Church  is  hated  by 
those  who  learn  what  she  is,  from  her  enemies.  It 
is  natural  for  an  honest  man  to  loathe  an  institution 
whose  history  he  believes  to  be  marked  by  blood 
shed,  crime,  and  fraud. 

Had  I  been  educated  as  they  were,  and  surrounded 
by  an  atmosphere  hostile  to  the  Church,  perhaps  1 
should  be  unfortunate  enough  to  be  breathing  ven 
geance  against  her  to-day,  instead  of  consecrating 
ruy  life  to  her  defence. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  not  of  their  hostility  that  I  complain,  but 
because  the  judgment  they  have  formed  of  her  is 
based  upon  the  reckless  assertions  of  her  enemies, 
and  not  upon  those  of  impartial  witnesses. 

Suppose  that  I  wanted  to  obtain  a  correct  estimate 
of  the  Southern  people,  would  it  be  fair  in  me  to 
select,  as  my  only  sources  of  information,  certain 
Northern  and  Eastern  periodicals  which,  during  our 
civil  war,  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  race  and 
institutions  of  the  South?  Those  papers  have 
represented  you  as  men  who  always  appeal  to  the 
sword  and  pistol,  instead  of  the  law,  to  vindicate 
your  private  grievances.  They  heaped  accusations 
against  you  which  I  will  not  here  repeat. 

Instead  of  taking  these  publications  as  the  basis 
of  my  information,  it  was  my  duty  to  come  among 
you ;  to  live  with  you ;  to  read  your  lives  by  study 
ing  your  public  and  private  character.  This  I  have 
done,  and  I  here  cheerfully  bear  witness  to  your 
many  excellent  traits  of  mind  and  heart. 

Now  I  ask  you  to  give  to  the  Catholic  Church 
the  same  measure  of  fairness  which  you  reasonably 
demand  of  me  when  judging  of  Southern  character. 
Ask  not  her  enemies  what  she  is,  for  tfeey  are  blinded 
by  passion ;  ask  not  her  ungrateful,  renegade  chil 
dren  ;  for  you  never  heard  a  son  speaking  well  of 
the  mother  whom  he  had  abandoned  and  despised. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

Study  her  history  in  the  pages  of  truth.  Ex 
amine  her  creed.  Read  her  authorized  catechisms 
and  doctrinal  books.  You  will  find  them  every 
where  on  the  shelves  of  booksellers,  in  the  libraries 
of  her  clergy,  on  the  tables  of  Catholic  families. 

There  is  no  Freemasonry  in  the  Catholic  Church ; 
she  has  no  secrets  to  keep  back.  She  has  not  one 
set  of  doctrines  for  Bishops  and  Priests,  and  another 
for  the  laity.  She  has  not  one  creed  for  the  initi 
ated  and  another  for  outsiders.  Everything  in  the 
Catholic  Church  is  open  and  above  board.  She 
has  the  same  doctrines  for  all — for  the  Pope  and 
the  peasant. 

Should  not  I  be  better  qualified  to  present  to  you 
the  Church's  creed  than  the  unfriendly  witnesses 
whom  I  have  mentioned  ? 

I  have  imbibed  her  doctrine  with  my  mother's 
milk.  I  have  made  her  history  and  theology  the 
study  of  my  life.  What  motive  can  I  have  in  mis 
leading  you  ?  Not  temporal  reward,  since  I  seek  not 
your  money,  but  your  soul,  for  which  Jesus  Christ 
died.  I  could  not  hope  for  an  eternal  reward  by 
deceiving  you,  for  I  would  thereby  purchase  for  my 
self  eternal  condemnation,  by  gaining  proselytes  at 
the  expense  of  truth. 

This,  friendly  reader,  is  my  only  motive.  I  feel, 
in  the  depth  of  my  heart,  that,  in  possessing  Catholic 


1  INTRODUCTION. 

faith,  I  hold  a  treasure  compared  with  which  all 
things  earthly  are  but  dross.  Instead  of  wishing  to 
bury  this  treasure  in  my  breast,  I  long  to  share  it 
with  you,  especially  as  I  lose  no  part  of  my  spiritual 
riches  by  communicating  them  to  others. 

It  is  to  me  a  duty  and  a  labor  of  love  to  speak  the 
truth  concerning  my  venerable  Mother,  especially 
as  she  is  so  much  maligned  in  our  days.  Were 
a  tithe  of  the  accusations  true  which  are  brought 
against  her,  I  would  not  be  attached  to  her  ministry, 
nor  even  to  her  communion,  for  a  single  day.  I 
know  these  charges  to  be  false.  The  longer  I  know 
her,  the  more  I  admire  and  venerate  her.  Every 
day  she  develops  before  me  new  spiritual  charms. 

Ah !  my  dear  friend,  if  you  saw  her  as  her 
children  see  her,  she  would  no  longer  appear  to  you 
as  typified  by  the  woman  of  Babylon,  but  she  would 
be  revealed  to  you,  "  Bright  as  the  sun,  fair  as  the 
moon ; "  with  the  beauty  of  heaven  stamped  upon 
her  brow,  glorious  "as  an  army  in  battle  array." 
You  would  love  her,  you  would  cling  to  her  and 
embrace  her.  With  her  children,  you  would  rise  up 
in  reverence  "  and  call  her  blessed." 

Consider  what  you  lose  and  what  you  gain  in 
embracing  the  Catholic  religion. 

Your  loss  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  your  gain. 
You  do  not  surrender  your  manhood  or  your  dignity 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

or  independence  or  reasoning  powers.  You  give  up 
none  of  those  revealed  truths  which  you  may  possess 
already.  The  only  restraint  imposed  upon  you  is 
the  restraint  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  this  you  will  not 
reasonably  object. 

You  gain  everything  that  is  worth  having.  You 
acquire  a  full  and  connected  knowledge  of  God's 
revelation.  You  get  possession  of  the  whole  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  You  no  longer  see  it  in  fragments, 
but  reflected  before  you  in  all  its  beauty,  as  in  a  pol 
ished  mirror.  Your  knowledge  of  the  truth  is  net 
only  complete  and  harmonious,  but  it  becomes  fixed 
and  steady.  You  exchange  opinion  for  certainty. 
You  are  no  longer  "  tossed  about  by  every  wind  of 
doctrine,"  but  you  are  firmly  grounded  on  the  rock 
of  truth.  Then  you  enjoy  that  profound  peace  which 
springs  from  the  conscious  possession  of  the  truth. 

And  in  coming  to  the  Church,  you  are  not  enter 
ing  a  strange  place,  but  you  are  returning  to  your 
Father's  home.  The  house  and  furniture  may  look 
odd  to  you.  But  it  is  just  the  same  as  your  fore 
fathers  left  it  three  hundred  years  ago.  In  coming 
back  to  the  Church,  you  worship  where  your  fathers 
worshipped  before  you;  you  kneel  before  the  altar 
at  which  they  knelt;  you  receive  the  Sacramenta 
which  they  received,  and  respect  the  authority  of 
the  clergy  whom  they  venerated.  You  come  back 

like  the  Prodigal  Son  to  the  home  of  your  Father 
2*  B 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

and  Mother,  and  the  garment  of  joy  is  placed  upon 
you,  and  the  banquet  of  love  is  set  before  you,  and 
you  receive  the  kiss  of  peace  as  a  pledge  of  your 
filiation  and  adoption.  One  hearty  embrace  of  your 
tender  Mother  will  compensate  you  for  all  the 
sacrifices  you  may  have  made,  and  you  will  exclaim 
with  the  penitent  Augustine :  "  Too  late  have  1 
known  thee,  O  Beauty,  ever  ancient  and  ever  new ; 
too  late  have  I  loved  thee." 

Should  the  perusal  of  this  book  bring  one  soul 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  Church,  my  labor  will  be 
amply  rewarded. 

Remember  that  nothing  is  so  essential  as  the 
salvation  of  your  immortal  soul ;  "  for  what  doth  it 
profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul  ?  "  l  Let  not,  therefore,  the  fear  of  offend 
ing  friends  and  relatives,  nor  the  persecution  of  men, 
nor  the  loss  of  earthly  possessions,  nor  any  other 
temporal  calamity,  deter  you  from  investigating  and 
embracing  the  true  religion.  "  For  our  present 
tribulation,  which  is  momentary  and  light,  worketh 
for  us  above  measure  exceedingly  an  eternal  weight 
of  glory." 3 

May  God  give  you  light  to  see  the  truth,  and, 
having  seen  it,  may  He  give  you  courage  and 

strength  to  follow  it. 

1  Matt.  xvi.  26.  '  II.  Cor.  iv.  17. 


THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    BLESSED    TRINITY,   THE    INCARNATION,    ETC. 

THE  Catholic  Church  teaches  that  there  is  but 
one  God,  who  is  infinite  in  knowledge,  in  power, 
in  goodness,  and  in  every  other  perfection ;  who 
created  all  things  by  His  omnipotence,  and  governs 
them  by  His  Providence. 

In  this  one  God  there  are  three  distinct  Persons, 
— the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  are 
perfectly  equal  to  each  other. 

We  believe  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  Second  Per 
son  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  is  perfect  God  and  per 
fect  Man.  He  is  God,  for  He  "  is  over  all  things, 
God  blessed  forever."1  "He  is  God  of  the  sub 
stance  of  the  Father,  begotten  before  time;  and 
He  is  Man  of  the  substance  of  His  Mother,  born 
in  time." 2  Out  of  love  for  us,  and  in  order  to 
rescue  us  from  the  miseries  entailed  upon  us  by 
the  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,  the  Divine 
Word  descended  from  heaven,  and  became  Man 
in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  by  the  opera 
tion  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  was  born  on  Christ 
inas  day,  in  a  stable  at  Bethlehem. 

After   having   led  a  life  of  obscurity  for  aboufc 

1  Horn.  ix.  5.  J  Athanasian  Creed. 

19 


20          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

thirty  years,  chiefly  at  Nazareth,  He  commenced 
His  public  career.  He  associated  with  Him  a 
number  of  men  who  are  named  Apostles,  whom  He 
instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  the  religion  which  He 
established. 

For  three  years,  He  went  about  doing  good,  giv 
ing  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  heal 
ing  all  kinds  of  diseases,  raising  the  dead  to  life, 
and  preaching  throughout  Judea  the  new  Gospel  of 
peace.1 

On  Good  Friday,  He  was  crucified  on  Mount 
Calvary,  and  thus  purchased  for  us  redemption  by 
His  death.  Hence  Jesus  exclusively  bears  the 
titles  of  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  because  "  there  is 
no  other  name  under  heaven  given  to  men  whereby 
we  must  be  saved."2  "He  was  wounded  for  our 
iniquities ;  He  was  bruised  for  our  sins,  .  .  .  and  by 
His  bruises  we  are  healed."  3 

We  are  commanded,  by  Jesus,  suffering  and  dying 
for  us,  to  imitate  Him  by  the  crucifixion  of  our  flesh, 
and  by  acts  of  daily  mortification.  "  If  any  one,"  He 
says,  "  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross  daily  and  follow  Me."  4 

Hence  we  abstain  from  the  use  of  flesh  meat  on 
Friday, —  the  day  consecrated  to  our  Saviour's  suf 
ferings,  —  not  because  the  eating  of  flesh  meat  is  sin 
ful  in  itself,  but  as  an  act  of  salutary  mortification. 
L)ving  children  would  be  prompted  by  filial  ten 
derness  to  commemorate  the  anniversary  of  their 

lMatt.xi.     2Actsiv.  12.     3  Isaiah  liii.  5    *  Luke  U.  23. 


THE  TRINITY.  21 

father's  death  rather  by  prayer  and  fasting  than  by 
feasting.  Even  so  we  abstain  on  Fridays  from  flesh 
meat,  that  we  may  in  a  small  measure  testify  our 
practical  sympathy  for  our  dear  Lord  by  the  morti 
fication  of  our  body,  endeavoring,  like  St.  Paul,  "  to 
bear  about  in  our  body  the  mortification  of  Jesus, 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  may  be  made  manifest  in 
our  bodies."1 

The  Cross  is  held  in  the  highest  reverence  by 
Catholics,  because  it  was  the  instrument  of  our 
Saviour's  crucifixion.  It  surmounts  our  churches 
and  adorns  our  sanctuaries.  We  venerate  it  as  the 
emblem,  of  our  salvation.  "  Far  be  it  from  me,"  says 
the  Apostle,  "  to  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 2  We  do  not,  of  course,  attach  any 
intrinsic  virtue  to  the  Cross  ;  this  would  be  sinful  and 
idolatrous.  Our  veneration  is  referred  to  Him  who 
died  upon  it, 

It  is  also  a  very  ancient  and  pious  practice  for  the 
faithful  to  make  on  their  person  the  sign  of  the 
Cross,  saying  at  the  same  time :  "  In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Sou,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Tertulliau,  who  lived  in  the  second  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  says :  "  In  all  our  actions,  when  we 
come  in  or-  go  out,  when  we  dress,  when  we  wash, 
at  our  meals,  before  retiring  to  sleep,  .  .  .  we  form' 
on  our  foreheads  the  sign  of  the  cross.  These  prac 
tices  are  not  commanded  by  a  formal  law  of  Scrip 
ture;  but  tradition  teaches  them,  custom  confirms 

1  LL.  Cor.  iv.  10.  a  Gal.  vi.  14 


22          THE  FAITH  OF  OUK  FATHERS. 

thorn,  faith  observes  them."1  By  the  sign  of  the 
cross  we  make  a  profession  of  our  faith  in  the  Trinity 
and  the  Incarnation,  and  perform  a  most  salutary 
act  of  religion. 

We  believe  that  on  Easter  Sunday  Jesus  Christ 
manifested  His  divine  power  by  raising  Himself  to 
life,  and  that  having  spent  forty  days  on  earth,  after 
His  resurrection,  instructing  His  disciples,  He  as 
cended  to  heaven  from  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

On  the  Feast  of  Pentecost,  or  Whitsunday,  ten 
days  after  His  Ascension,  our  Saviour  sent,  as  He 
had  promised,  His  Holy  Spirit  to  His  disciples, 
while  they  were  assembled  together  in  prayer.  The 
Holy  Ghost  purified  their  hearts  from  sin,  and  im 
parted  to  them  a  full  knowledge  of  those  doctrines 
of  salvation  which  they  were  instructed  to  preach. 
On  the  same  Feast  of  Pentecost  the  Apostles  com 
menced  their  sublime  mission,  from  which  day,  ac 
cordingly,  we  date  the  active  life  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

Our  Redeemer  gave  the  most  ample  authority  to 
the  Apostles  to  teach  in  His  name ;  commanding 
them  to  "  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature," 3 
and  directing  all,  under  the  most  severe  penalties, 
to  hear  and  obey  them:  "He  that  heareth  you, 
bearoth  Me;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth 
Me.  And  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him  that 
sent  Me."* 

And  lest  we  should  be  mistaken  in  distinguishing 

1  De  Corona,  C.  iii.        2  Mark  xvi.  15.        *  Luke  x.  16. 


UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  23 

between  the  true  Church  and  false  sects,  which  our 
I  ord  predicted  would  arise,  He  was  pleased  to 
stamp  upon  His  Church  certain  shining  marks,  by 
which  every  sincere  inquirer  could  easily  recognize 
her  as  His  only  Spouse.  The  principal  marks  or 
characteristics  of  the  true  Church  are,  her  Unity, 
Sanctity,  Catholicity,  and  Apostolicity,1  to  which 
may  be  added  the  Infallibility  of  her  teaching  and 
the  Perpetuity  of  her  existence. 

I  shall  treat  successively  of  these  marks. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE'  UNITY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

BY  unity  is  meant  that  the  members  of  the  true 
Church  must  be  united  in  the  belief  of  the  same 
doctrines  of  revelation,  and  in  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  authority  of  the  same  pastors.  Heresy  and 
schism  are  opposed  to  Christian  unity.  By  heresy, 
a  man  rejects  one  or  more  articles  of  the  Christian 
faith.  By  schism,  he  spurns  the  authority  of  his 
spiritual  superiors.  That  our  Saviour  requires  this 
unity  of  faith  and  government  in  His  members,  is 
evident  from  various  passages  of  Holy  Writ.  In 
His  admirable  prayer  immediately  before  His  pas 
sion,  He  says :  "  I  pray  for  them  also  who  through 

1  Symb.  Constantinop. 


24          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

their  word  shall  believe  in  Me ;  that  they  all  may  be 
one,  as  Thcu,  Father,  in  Me  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  Us ;  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."1  Here  Jesus  prayed  that 
His  followers  may  be  united  in  the  bond  of  a  com 
mon  faith,  as  He  and  His  Father  are  united  in  es 
sence,  and  certainly  the  prayer  of  Jesus  is  always 
heard. 

St.  Paul  ranks  schism  and  heresy  with  the  crimes 
of  murder  and  idolatry,  and  he  declares  that  the 
authors  of  sects  shall  not  possess  the  kingdom  of 
God.2  In  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  he  insists 
upon  unity  of  faith  in  the  following  emphatic  lan 
guage :  "  Be  careful  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  bond  of  peace  ;  one  body  and  one  Spirit,  as  you 
are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling  ;  one  Lord, 
one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all, 
who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us  all."  3 
As  you  all,  he  says,  worship  one  God,  and  not  many 
Gods;  as  you  acknowledge  the  same  divine  Medi 
ator  of  redemption,  and  not  many  mediators;  as 
you  are  sanctified  by  the  same  divine  Spirit,  and 
not  by  many  spirits ;  as  you  all  hope  for  the  same 
heaven,  and  not  different  heavens,  so  must  you  all 
profess  the  same  faith. 

Unity  of  government  is  not  less  essential  to  the 
Church  of  Christ  than  unity  of  doctrine.  Oar 
divine  Saviour  never  speaks  of  His  Churches,  but 
of  His  Church.  He  does  not  say  :  "  Upon  this  rock 

1  John  xvii.  20,  21.     2  Gal.  v.  20,  21.     3  Ephes.  iv.  3-6. 


UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  25 

I  will  build  my  Churches,"  but,  "Upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  Church,"1  from  which  words  we  must 
conclude,  that  it  never  was  His  intention  10  establish 
or  to  sanction  various  conflicting  denominations,  but 
one  corporate  body,  with  all  the  members  united 
under  one  visible  Head  ;  for  as  the  Church  is  a  visi 
ble  body,  it  must  have  a  visible  head. 

The  Church  is  called  a  kingdom :  "  He  shall 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,  and  of  His 
kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." 2  Now  in  every 
well-regulated  kingdom  there  is  but  one  king,  one 
form  of  government,  one  uniform  body  of  law*,  which 
all  are  obliged  to  observe.  In  like  manner,  in 
Christ's  spiritual  kingdom,  there  must  be  one  Chief 
to  whom  all  owe  spiritual  allegiance ;  one  form  of 
ecclesiastical  government;  one  uniform  body  of  laws 
which  all  Christians  are  bound  to  observe;  for, 
"  every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  shall  be 
made  desolate." z 

Our  Saviour  calls  His  Church  a  sheepfold.  "  And 
there  shall  be  made  one  fold  and  one  shepherd."4 
What  more  beautiful  or  fitting  illustration  of  unity 
can  we  have  than  that  which  is  suggested  by  a 
sheepfold?  All  the  sheep  of  a  flock  cling  together. 
If  they  are  momentarily  separated,  they  are  im 
patient  till  reunited.  They  follow  in  the  same  path. 
They  feed  on,  the  same  pastures.  They  obey  the 
same  shepherd,  and  fly  from  the  voice  of  strangers. 

1  Matt.  xvi.  18.         2  Luke  i.  32,  33.         3  Matt.  xii.  25. 

*  John  x.  16. 
o 


26  THE  FAITH  OF  OTJR  FATHERS. 

So  did  our  Lord  intend  that  all  the  sheep  of  His  fold 
should  be  nourished  by  the  same  sacraments  and  the 
same  bread  of  life ;  that  they  should  follow  the  same 
rule  of  faith  as  their  guide  to  heaven  ;  that  they 
should  listen  to  the  voice  of  one  Chief  Pastor,  and 
that  they  should  carefully  shun  false  teachers. 

His  Church  is  compared  to  a  human  body.1  In 
one  body  there  are  many  members,  all  inseparably 
connected  with  the  head.  The  head  commands  and 
the  foot  instantly  moves,  the  hand  is  raised  and  the 
lips  open.  Even  so  our  Lord  ordained  that  His 
Church,  composed  of  many  members,  should  be  all 
united  to  one  supreme  visible  Head,  whom  they  are 
bound  to  obey. 

The  Church  is  compared  to  a  vine,  all  whose 
branches,  though  spreading  far  and  wide,  are  nec 
essarily  connected  with  the  main  stem,  and  from 
its  sap  they  are  nourished.  In  like  manner,  our 
Saviour  will  have  all  the  saplings  of  His  Vineyard 
connected  with  the  main  stem,  and  all  draw  their 
nourishment  from  the  parent  stock. 

The  Church,  in  fine,  is  called  in  Scripture  by  the 
beautiful  title  of  bride  or  spouse  of  Christ,2  and  the 
Christian  law  admits  only  of  one  wife. 

In  fact,  our  common  sense  alone,  apart  from 
revelation,  is  sufficient  to  convince  us  that  God 
could  not  be  the  author  of  various  opposing  systems 
of  religion.  God  is  essentially  one.  He  is  Truth 
itself.  How  could  the  God  of  truth  affirm,  for  in- 

1  Kom.  xii.  4,  5.  2  Apoc.  xzi.  9. 


UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  27 

stance,  to  one  body  of  Christians  that  there  are 
three  Persons  in  God,  and  to  another  that  there  ia 
only  one  Person  in  God  ?  How  could  He  say  to 
one  individual  that  Jesus  Christ  is  God,  and  to 
another  that  He  is  only  man.  How  can  He  tell 
me  that  the  punishments  of  the  wicked  are  eternal, 
and  tell  another  that  they  are  not  eternal  ?  One 
of  these  contradictory  statements  must  be  false. 
"  God  is  not  the  God  of  dissension,  but  of  peace." l 

Hence,  it  is  clear  that  Jesus  Christ  intended  that 
His  Church  should  have  one  common  doctrine  which 
all  Christians  are  bound  to  believe,  and  one  uniform 
government  to  which  all  should  be  loyally  attached. 

With  all  due  respect  for  my  dissenting  brethren, 
truth  compels  me  to  say  that  this  unity  of  doctrine 
and  government  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Protestant 
sects,  taken  collectively  or  separately.  That  the 
various"  Protestant  denominations  differ  from  one 
another  not  only  in  minor  details,  but  in  most 
essential  principles  of  faith,  is  evident  to  every  one 
conversant  with  the  doctrines  of  the  different  Creeds. 
The  multiplicity  of  sects  in  this  country,  with  their 
mutual  recriminations,  is  the  scandal  of  Christianity, 
and  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen.  Not  only  does  sect  differ  from  sect,  but 
each  particular  denomination  is  divided  into  two 
or  more  independent  or  conflicting  branches. 

In  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  we  have  several 
Baptist  denominations,  each  having  its  own  dis- 

1 1.  Cor.  xiv.  33. 


28  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

tinctive  appellation.  There  is  also  the  Methodist 
Church  North  and  the  Methodist  Church  South. 
There  was  the  Old  and  the  New  School  Presbyterian 
Church.  And  even  in  the  Episcopal  Communion, 
which  is  the  most  conservative  body  outside  the 
Catholic  Church,  there  is  the  ritualistic,  or  high 
church,  and  the  low  church.  Nay,  if  you  question 
closely  the  individual  members  composing  any  one 
fraction  of  these  denominations,  you  will  not  rarely 
find  them  giving  a  contradictory  view  of  their  tenets 
of  religion. 

Protestants  differ  from  one  another  not  only  in 
doctrine,  but  in  the  form  of  ecclesiastical  govern 
ment  and  discipline.  The  church  of  England  ac 
knowledges  the  reigning  Sovereign  as  its  Spiritual 
Head.  Some  denominations  recognize  Deacons, 
Priests,  and  Bishops  as  an  essential  part  of  their 
hierarchy  ;  while  the  great  majority  of  Protestants 
reject  such  titles  altogether. 

Where,  then,  shall  we  find  this  essential  unity  of 
faith  and  government?  I  answer,  confidently,  no 
where  save  in  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  number  of  Catholics  in  the  world  is  computed 
at  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  millions.  They  have 
all  "  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,"  one  creed. 
They  receive  the  same  sacraments,  they  worship  at 
the  same  altar,  and  pay  spiritual  allegiance  to  one 
common  Head.  Should  a  Catholic  be  so  unfortu 
nate  as  contumaciously  to  deny  a  single  article 
of  faith,  or  withdraw  from  the  communion  of  hia 


UNITY   OF  THE  CHURCH.  29 

legitimate  pastors,  he  ceases  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Church,  and  is  cut  off  like  a  withered  branch.  The 
Church  had  rather  sever  her  right  hand  than  allow 
any  member  to  corrode  her  vitals.  It  was  thus  she 
excommunicated  Henry  VIII.  because  he  persisted 
in  violating  the  sacred  law  of  marriage,  although 
she  foresaw  that  the  lustful  monarch  would  involve 
a  nation  in  his  spiritual  ruin.  She  anathematized, 
more  recently,  Dr.  Dolliuger,  though  the  prestige  of 
his  name  threatened  to  engender  a  schism  in  Ger 
many.  She  says  to  her  children:  "You  may  es 
pouse  any  political  party  you  choose;  with  this  I 
have  no  concern."  But  as  soon  as  they  trench  on 
matters  of  faith,  she  cries  out  :  "  Hitherto  thou  shalt 
come,  and  shalt  go  no  farther;  and  here  thou  shalt 
break  thy  swelling  waves  "  l  of  discord.  The  tern 
pie  of  faith  is  the  asylum  of  peace,  concord,  and 
unity. 

How  sublime  and  consoling  is  the  thought,  that 
whithersoever  a  Catholic  goes  over  the  broad  world, 
whether  he  enters  his  Church  in  Pekin  or  in  Mel 
bourne,  in  London,  or  Dublin,  or  Paris,  or  Home,  or 
New  York,  or  San  Francisco,  he  is  sure  to  hear  the 
self-same  doctrine  preached,  to  assist  at  the  same  sac 
rifice,  and  to  partake  of  the  same  sacraments. 

This  is  not  all.  Her  Creed  is  now  identical  with 
what  it  was  in  past  ages.  The  same  Gospel  of  peace 
that  Jesus  Christ  preached  on  the  Mount  ;  the  same 
doctrine  that  St.  Peter  preached  at  Antioch  and 


xxxviii.  11. 
3* 


80  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Rome;  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus;  St.  John  Chrysostom 
at  Constantinople ;  St.  Augustine  in  Hippo  ;  St.  Am 
brose  in  Milan ;  St.  Remigius  in  France ;  St.  Boni 
face  in  Germany;  St.  Athanasius  in  Alexandria; 
the  same  doctrine  that  St.  Patrick  introduced  into 
Ireland;  that  St.  Augustine  brought  into  England, 
and  St.  Pelagius  into  Scotland,  is  ever  preached  in 
the  Catholic  Church  throughout  the  globe,  from 
January  till  December  —  "Jesus  Christ  yesterday, 
aud  to-day,  and  the  same  forever."  l 

The  same  admirable  unity  that  exists  in  matters 
of  faith,  is  also  established  in  the  government  of  the 
Church.  All  the  members  of  the  vast  body  of  Cath 
olic  Christians  are  as  intimately  united  to  one  visi 
ble  Chief  as  the  members  of  the  human  body  are 
joined  to  the  head.  The  faithful  of  each  parish 
are  subject  to  their  immediate  Pastor.  Each  Pastor 
is  subordinate  to  his  Bishop,  and  each  Bishop  of 
Christendom  acknowledges  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and 
Head  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  is  not  this  unity  of  faith 
impaired  by  those  doctrinal  definitions  which  the 
Church  has  promulgated  from  time  to  time?  We 
answer:  No  new  dogma,  unknown  to  the  Apostles, 
not  contained  in  the  primitive  Christian  revelation, 
can  be  admitted.  (John  xiv.  26;  xv.  15;  xvi.  13.) 
For  the  Apostles  received  the  whole  deposit  of  God's 
word,  according  to  the  promise  of  our  Lord :  "  When 


UNITY    OF  THE   CHURCH.  31 

He  shall  come,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  He  shall  teach 
you  all  truth."  And  so  the  Church  proposes  the 
doctrines  of  faith,  such  as  they  came  from  the  lips 
of  Christ,  and  as  the  Holy  Spirit  taught  them  to  the 
Apostles  at  the  birth  of  the  Christian  law  —  doctrines 
which  know  neither  variation  nor  decay. 

Hence,  whenever  it  has  been  denned  that  any 
point  of  doctrine  pertained  to  the  Catholic  faith,  it 
was  always  understood  that  this  was  equivalent  to 
the  declaration  that  the  doctrine  in  question  had 
been  revealed  to  the  Apostles,  and  had  come  down  to 
us  from  them,  either  by  Scripture  or  tradition.  And 
as  the  acts  of  all  the  Councils,  and  the  history  of 
every  definition  of  faith  evidently  show,  it  was 
never  contended  that  a  new  revelation  had  been 
made,  but  every  inquiry  was  directed  to  this  one 
point  —  whether  the  doctrine  in  question  was  con 
tained  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures  or  in  the  Apostolic 
traditions. 

A  revealed  truth  frequently  has  a  very  extensive 
scope,  and  is  directed  against  error  under  its  many 
changing  forms.  Nor  is  it  necessary  that  those  who 
receive  this  revelation  in  the  first  instance,  should  be 
explicitly  acquainted  with  its  full  import,  or  cogni 
zant  of  all  its  bearings.  Truth  never  changes  ;  it  is 
the  same  now,  yesterday,  and  forever,  in  itself;  but 
our  relations  towards  truth  may  change,  for  that 
which  is  hidden  from  us  to-day  may  become  known 
to  us  to-morrow.  "  It  often  happens,"  says  St.  Au 
gustine,  "  that  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  defend 


THE  FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

certain  points  of  Catholic  doctrine  against  the  insid 
ious  attacks  of  heretics,  they  are  more  carefully 
studied,  they  become  more  clearly  understood,  they 
are  more  earnestly  inculcated ;  and  so  the  very  ques 
tions  raised  by  heretics  give  occasion  to  a  more  thor 
ough  knowledge  of  the  subject  in  question."  - 

Let  us  illustrate  this.  In  the  Apostolic  revelation 
and  preaching,  some  truths  might  have  been  con 
tained  implicitly,  e.  g.,  in  the  doctrine  that  grace  is 
necessary  for  every  salutary  work,  it  is  implicitly 
asserted  that  the  assistance  of  grace  is  required  for 
the  inception  of  every  good  and  salutary  work. 
This  was  denied  by  the  semi-Pelagians,  and  their 
error  was  condemned  by  an  explicit  definition.  And 
so  in  other  matters,  as  the  rising  controversies  or 
new  errors  gave  occasion  for  it,  there  were  more 
explicit  declarations  of  what  was  formerly  implicitly 
believed.  In  the  doctrine  of  the  supreme  power  of 
Peter,  as  the  visible  foundation  of  the  Church,  we 
nave  the  implied  assertion  of  many  rights  and  duties 
which  belong  to  the  centre  of  unity.  In  the  revela 
tion  of  the  supereminent  dignity  and  purity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  there  is  implied  her  exemption  from 
original  sin,  etc.,  etc. 

So,  too,  in  the  beginning,  many  truths  might  have 
been  proposed  somewhat  obscurely  or  less  clearly; 
they  might  have  been  less  urgently  insisted  upon, 
because  there  was  no  heresy,  no  contrary  teaching 
to  render  a  more  explicit  declaration  necessary. 
1De  Civitate  Dei,  Lib.  16,  Cap.  ii.,  No.  1. 


UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  83 

Now,  a  doctrine  which  is  implicitly,  less  clearly,  rwA 
so  earnestly  proposed,  may  be  overlooked,  misunder 
stood,  called  in  question  ;  consequently,  it  may  hap 
pen  that  some  articles  are  now  universally  believed 
in  the  Church,  in  regard  to  which  doubts  and  con 
troversies  existed  in  former  ages,  even  within  the 
bosom  of  the  Church.  "Those  who  err  in  belief 
do  but  serve  to  bring  out  more  clearly  the  sound 
ness  of  those  who  believe  rightly.  For  there  are 
many  things  which  lay  hidden  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
when  heretics  were  cut  off,  they  vexed  the  Church 
of  God  with  disputes ;  then  the  hidden  things  were 
brought  to  light,  and  the  will  of  God  was  made 
known."  (St.  Augustine  on  the  54th  Psalm,  No. 
22.)  _ 

This  kind  of  progress  in  faith  we  can  and  do  ad 
mit  ;  but  the  truth  is  not  changed  thereby.  As 
Albertus  Magnus  says  :  "  It  would  be  more  correct 
to  style  this  the  progress  of  the  believer  in  the  faith, 
than  of  the  faith  in  the  believer." 

To  show  that  this  kind  of  progress  is  to  be  ad 
mitted,  only  two  things  are  to  be  proved :  1.  That 
some  divinely  revealed  truths  should  be  contained 
in  the  Apostolic  teaching  imjilicitly,  less  clearly  ex 
plained,  less  urgently  pressed.  And  this  can  be  de 
nied  only  by  those  who  hold  that  the  Bible  is  the 
only  rul€  of  Faith,  that  it  is  clear  in  every  part,  and 
could  be  readily  understood  by  all  from  the  be 
ginning.  This  point  I  shall  consider  farther  on  in 
this  work.  2.  That  the  Church  can,  in  process  of 
G 


34  THE  FAITH  OF  OUB  FATHEBS. 

time,  as  occasions  arise,  declare,  explain,  urge.  Thia 
is  proved  not  only  from  the  Scriptures  and  the 
Fathers,  but  even  from  the  conduct  of  Protestants 
themselves,  who  often  boast  of  the  care  and  assiduity 
with  which  they  '"  search  the  Scriptures,"  and  study 
out  their  meaning,  even  now  that  so  many  Commen 
taries  on  the  sacred  Text  have  been  published.  And 
why  ?  To  obtain  more  light ;  to  understand  better 
what  is  revealed.  It  would  appear  from  this  that 
the  only  question  which  could  arise  on  this  point  is, 
not  about  the  possibility  of  arriving  by  degrees  at  a 
clearer  understanding  of  the  true  sense  of  revelation, 
as  circumstances  may  call  for  successive  develop 
ments,  but  about  the  authority  of  the  Church  to 
propose  and  to  determine  that  sense.  So  that,  after 
all,  we  are  always  brought  back  to  the  only  real 
point  of  division  and  dispute  between  those  who  are 
not  Catholics  and  ourselves,  namely,  to  the  authority 
of  the  Church,  of  which  I  shall  have  more  to  say 
hereafter.  I  cannot  conclude  better  than  by  quoting 
the  words  of  St.  Vincent  of  Lerins :  "  Let  us  take 
care  that  it  be  with  us  in  matters  of  religion,  which 
affect  our  souls,  as  it  is  with  material  bodies,  which, 
as  time  goes  on,  pass  through  successive  phases  of 
growth  and  development,  and  multiply  their  years, 
but  yet  remain  always  the  same  individual  bodies  as 
they  were  in  the  beginning.  ...  It  very  properly 
follows  from  the  nature  of  things  that,  with  a  perfect 
agreement  and  consistency  between  the  beginnings 
and  the  final  results,  when  we  reap  the  harvest  of 


HOLINESS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  55 

dogmatic  truth  which  has  sprung  from  the  seeds  of 
doctrine  sown  in  the  spring-time  of  the  Church's 
existence,  we  should  find  no  substantial  difference 
between  the  grain  which  was  first  planted  and  that 
which  we  now  gather.  For  though  the  germs  of 
the  early  faith  have  in  some  respects  been  evolved, 
in  the  course  of  time,  and  still  receive  nourishment 
and  culture,  yet  nothing  in  them  that  is  substantial 
can  ever  suffer  change.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  a 
faithful  and  ever  watchful  guardian  of  the  dogmas 
which  have  been  committed  to  her  charge.  In  this 
sacred  deposit  she  changes  nothing,  she  takes 
nothing  from  it,  she  adds  nothing  to  it." 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   HOLINESS   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

HOLINESS  is  also  a  mark  of  the  true  Church ; 
for  in  the  Creed  we  say,  "  I  believe  in  the  holy 
Catholic  Church." 

Every  society  is  founded  for  a  special  object. 
One  society  is  formed  with  the  view  of  cultivating 
social  intercourse  among  its  members ;  a  second  is 
organized  to  advance  their  temporal  interests ;  and 
a  third,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  literary  pur 
suits.  The  Catholic  Church  is  a  society  founded  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  sanctification  of  its 
members;  hence,  St.  Peter  calls  the  Christians  of 


36  THE  FAITH   OF   OUK   FATHERS. 

his  time  "  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood, 
a  holy  nation,  a  purchased  people  " 

The  example  of  our  divine  Founder,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  sublime  moral  lessons  He  has  taught  us,  the 
Sacraments  He  has  instituted  —  all  tend  to  our 
sanctification.  They  all  concentre  themselves  in 
our  soul,  like  so  many  heavenly  rays,  to  enlighten 
and  inflame  it  with  the  fire  of  devotion. 

When  the  Church  speaks  to  us  of  the  attributes 
of  our  Lord,  of  His  justice  and  mercy  and  sanctity 
and  truth,  her  object  is  not  merely  to  extol  the 
divine  perfections,  but  also  to  exhort  us  to  imitate 
them,  and  to  be  like  Him,  just  and  merciful,  holy 
and  truthful.  Behold  the  sublime  Model  that  is 
placed  before  us!  It  is  not  man,  nor  angel,  nor 
archangel,  but  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  "  who 
is  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and  the  figure  of  His 
substance."2  The  Church  places  His  image  over 
our  altars,  admonishing  us  to  "  look  and  do  accord 
ing  to  the  pattern  shown  on  the  mount."  *  And  from 
that  height  He  seems  to  say  to  us  :  "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I 
the  Lord  your  God  am  holy." 4  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even 
as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect."8  "  Be  ye  fol 
lowers  of  God  as  most  dear  children."  * 

We  are  invited  to  lead  holy  lives,  not  only  be 
cause  our  divine  Founder,  Jesus  Christ,  was  holy, 
but  also  because  we  bear  His  sweet  and  venerable 
name.  We  are  called  Christians.  That  is  a  name 

1  I.  Pet.  ii.  9.  2  Heb.  i.  3.  s  Exod.  xxv.  40. 

*  Lev.  xix.  2.  *  Matt.  v.  48.  •  Eph.  v.  1. 


HOLINESS  OF  THE   CHURCH.  37 

we  would  not  exchange  for  all  the  high-sounding 
titles  of  Prince  or  Emperor.  We  are  justly  proud 
of  this  appellation  of  Christian;  but  we  are  reminded 
that  it  has  annexed  to  it  a  corresponding  obligation. 
It  is  not  an  idle  name,  but  one  full  of  solemn  signifi 
cance;  for  a  Christian,  as  the  very  name  implies,  is 
a  follower  or  disciple  of  Christ  —  one  who  walks  in 
the  footsteps  of  His  Master  by  observing  His  pre 
cepts  ;  who  reproduces  in  his  own  life  the  character 
and  virtues  of  his  divine  Model.  In  a  word,  a  Chris 
tian  is  another  Christ.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  con 
tradiction  in  terms,  if  a  Christian  had  nothing  in 
common  with  his  Lord  except  the  name.  Tho  dis 
ciple  should  imitate  his  Master,  the  soldier  should 
imitate  his  Commander,  and  the  members  should  be 
like  the  Head. 

The  Church  constantly  allures  her  children  to  holi 
ness  by  placing  before  their  minds  the  Incarna 
tion,  life  and  death  of  our  Saviour.  What  appeals 
more  forcibly  to  a  life  of  piety  than  the  contempla 
tion  of  Jesus  born  in  a  stable,  living  an  humble  life 
in  Nazareth,  dying  on  a  cross,  that  His  blood  might 
purify  us!  If  He  sent  forth  Apostles  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  whole  world ;  if  in  His  name  temples 
are  built  in  every  nation,  and  missionaries  are  sent 
to  the  extremities  of  the  globe,  all  this  is  done  that 
we  may  be  saints.  God,  says  St.  Paul,  "gave  some 
Apostles,  and  some  Prophets,  and  others  Evangel 
ists,  and  others  Pastors  and  Doctors,  for  the  perfect 
ing  of  the  Saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
4 


38  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ,  until  we  all 
meet  unto  the  unity  of  faith  and  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God  unto  a  perfect  man." l 

The  moral  law  which  the  Catholic  Church  incul 
cates  on  her  children,  is  the  highest  and  holiest 
standard  of  perfection  ever  presented  to  any  people, 
and  furnishes  the  strongest  incentives  to  virtue. 

The  same  divine  precepts  delivered  through  Moses 
to  the  Jews,  on  Mount  Sinai,  the  same  salutary  warn 
ings  which  the  prophets  uttered  throughout  Judea, 
the  same  sublime  and  consoling  lessons  of  morality 
which  Jesus  gave  on  the  Mount,  these  are  the  lessons 
which  the  Church  teaches  from  January  till  Decem 
ber.  The  Catholic  preacher  does  not  amuse  his  au 
dience  with  speculative  topics  or  political  harangues, 
or  any  other  subjects  of  a  transitory  nature.  He 
preaches  only  "  Christ,  and  Him  crucified." 

This  code  of  divine  precepts  is  enforced  with  as 
much  zeal  by  the  Church  as  was  the  Decalogue  of 
old  by  Moses,  when  he  said :  "  These  words,  which  I 
command  thee  this  day,  shall  be  in  thy  heart;  and 
thou  shalt  tell  them  to  thy  children ;  and  thou  shalt 
meditate  upon  them,  sitting  in  thy  house,  and  walk- 
ing  on  thy  journey,  sleeping,  and  rising."  2 

The  first  lesson  taught  to  children  in  our  Sunday- 
schools  is  their  duty  to  know,  love,  and  serve  God, 
and  thus  to  be  saints  ;  for  if  they  know,  love,  and 
serve  God  aright,  they  shall  be  saints  indeed.  Theii 
tender  minds  are  instructed  in  this  great  truth  that, 

1  Ephes.  iv.  11-13.  2  Deut.  vi.  6,  7. 


HOLINESS   OF  THE  CHURCH.  39 

though  they  had  the  riches  of  Dives,  and  the  glory 
and  pleasures  of  Solomon,  and  yet  fail  to  be  saints, 
they  have  missed  their  vocation,  and  are  "  wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."1 
"  For,  what  doth  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  " 2  On  the  contrary, 
though  they  are  as  poor  as  Lazarus,  and  as  miser 
able  as  Job  in  the  days  of  his  adversity,  they  are 
assured  that  their  condition  is  a  happy  one  in  the 
sight  of  God,  if  they  live  up  to  the  maxims  of  the 
Gospel. 

The  Church  quickens  the  zeal  of  her  children  for 
holiness  of  life  by  impressing  on  their  minds  the 
rigor  of  God's  judgments,  who  "will  bring  to  light 
the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  make  manifest 
the  counsels  of  the  hearts,"  by  reminding  them  of 
the  terrors  of  Hell  and  of  the  sweet  joys  of  Heaven. 

Not  only  are  Catholics  instructed  in  church  on 
Sundays,  but  they  are  exhorted  to  peruse  the  Word 
of  God,  and  manuals  of  devotion,  at  home.  The 
saints  whose  lives  are  there  recorded,  serve  like 
bright  stars  to  guide  them  over  the  stormy  ocean  oi 
life  to  the  shores  of  eternity ;  while  the  history  oi 
those  who  have  fallen  from  grace,  stands  like  a  bea 
con  light,  warning  them  to  shun  the  rocks  against 
which  a  Solomon  and  a  Judas  made  shipwreck  of 
their  souls. 

Our  books  of  piety  are  adapted  to  every  want  of 
the  human  soul,  and  are  a  fruitful  source  of  sanctifi- 

1  Apoc.  iii.  7.  f  Matt.  xvi.  2fi 


40  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Ration.  Who  can  read  without  spiritual  profit  such 
works  as  the  almost  inspired  Following  of  Christ,  by 
Thomas  a  Kempis ;  the  Christian  Perfection  of  Rod 
riguez;  the  Spiritual  Combat  of  Scupoli ;  the  writing? 
of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  a  countless  host  of  other 
ascetical  authors? 

You  will  search  in  vain  outside  the  Catholic 
Church  for  writers  comparable  in  unction  and 
healthy  piety  to  such  as  I  have  mentioned.  .Com 
pare,  for  instance,  Kempis  with  Bunyan's  Pilgrims 
Progress,  or  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints  with  Fox's 
Book  of  Martyrs.  You  lay  down  Butler  with  a  sweet 
and  tranquil  devotion,  and  with  a  profound  admira 
tion  for  the  Christian  heroes  whose  lives  he  records ; 
while  you  put  aside  Fox  with  a  troubled  mind  and 
a  sense  of  vindictive  bitterness.  I  do  not  speak  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  because  the  best  part  of  it  is 
a  translation  from  our  Missal.  Protestants  also  pub 
lish  Kempis,  though  sometimes  in  a  mutilated  form ; 
every  passage  in  the  original  being  carefully  omitted 
which  alludes  to  Catholic  doctrines  and  practices. 

A  distinguished  Episcopal  clergyman  of  Baltimore 
once  avowed  to  me  that  his  favorite  book?  of  de 
votion  were  our  standard  works  of  piety.  L?  saying 
this,  he  paid  a  merited  and  graceful  tribute  to  the 
superiority  of  Catholic  spiritual  literature. 

The  Church  gives  us  not  only  the  most  pressing 
motives,  but  also  the  most  potent  means  for  our 
sanctification.  These  means  are  furnished  by  prayer 
and  the  Sacraments.  She  exhorts  us  to  frequent 


HOLINESS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  41 

communion  with  God  by  prayer  and  meditation , 
and  so  imperative  is  this  obligation  in  our  eyes, 
that  we  would  justly  hold  ourselves  guilty  of  grave 
dereliction  of  duty,  if  we  neglected  for  a  considerable 
time  the  practice  of  morning  and  evening  prayer. 

The  most  abundant  source  of  graces  is  also  found 
in  the  seven  Sacraments  of  the  Church.  Our  soul  is 
bathed  in  the  Precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  at  the 
font  of  Baptism,  from  which  we  come  forth  "  new 
creatures."  We  are  then  and  there  incorporated  with 
Christ,  becoming  "  bone  of  His  bone  and  flesh  of  His 
flesh  ;  "  "  for  as  many  of  you,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  as 
have  been  baptized  in  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."  * 
And  as  the  Holy  Ghost  is  inseparable  from  Christ, 
our  bodies  are  made  the  temples  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  our  souls  His  Sanctuary.  "  Christ  loved 
the  Church  and  delivered  Himself  up  for  it,  that  He 
might  sanctify  it,  cleansing  it  by  the  laver  of  water, 
in  the  word  of  life ;  that  He  might  present  it  to 
Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish."2 

In  Confirmation,  we  receive  new  graces  and  new 
strength  to  battle  against  the  temptations  of  life. 

In  the  Eucharist,  we  are  fed  with  the  living  Bread 
which  cometh  down  from  heaven. 

In  Penance  are  washed  away  the  stains  we  have 
contracted  after  Baptism. 

Are  we  called  to  the  Sacred  Ministry,  or  to  the 

1  Gal.  iii.  27.  »  Eph.  v.  25-27. 

4* 


42  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

married  stale,  we  find  in  the  Sacraments  of  Orders 
and  Matrimony,  ample  graces  corresponding  with  the 
condition  of  life  which  we  have  embraced. 

And  our  last  illness  is  consoled  by  Extreme  Unc 
tion,  wherein  we  receive  the  divine  succor  necessary 
to  fortify  and  purify  us  before  departing  from  this 
world. 

In  a  word,  the  Church,  like  a  watchful  mother, 
accompanies  us  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  supply 
ing  us  at  each  step  with  the  medicine  of  life  and 
immortality. 

As  the  Church  offers  to  her  children  the  strongest 
motives  and  the  most  powerful  means -for  attaining 
to  sanctity  of  life,  so  does  she  reap  among  them 
the  most  abundant  fruits  of  holiness.  In  every  age 
and  country  she  is  the  fruitful  mother  of  saints. 
Our  Ecclesiastical  calendar  is  not  confined  to  the 
names  of  the  twelve  Apostles.  It  is  emblazoned 
with  the  lists  of  heroic  martyrs  who  "  were  storied, 
and  cut  asunder,  and  put  to  death  by  the  sword ; " 
of  innumerable  confessors  and  hermits  who  left  all 
things  and  followed  Christ ;  of  spotless  virgins  who 
preserved  their  chastity  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's 
sake.  Every  day  in  the  year  is  consecrated  in  our 
Martyrology  to  a  large  number  of  saints. 

And  in  our  own  times,  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe  and  in  every  department  of  life,  the  Church 
continues  to  raise  up  saints  worthy  of  the  primitive 
«days  of  Christianity. 

'Heh  xi.  37. 


HOLINESS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  43 

If  we  seek  for  Apostles,  we  find  them  conspicuously 
among  the  Bishops  of  Germany,  who  are  now  dis 
playing  in  prison  and  in  exile  a  serene  heroism 
worthy  of  Peter  and  Paul. 

Every  year  records  the  tortures  of  Catholic  Mis- 
sioners  who  die  Martyrs  to  the  faith  in  China,  Corea, 
and  other  Pagan  countries. 

Among  her  confessors  are  numbered  those  devoted 
priests  who,  abandoning  home  and  family  ties,  an 
nually  go  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  foreign 
lauds.  Their  worldly  possessions  are  often  confined 
to  a  few  books  of  devotion  and  their  modest  apparel. 

And  who  is  a  stranger  to  her  consecrated  virgin*, 
those  sisters  of  various  Orders  who  in  every  large 
city  of  Christendom  are  daily  reclaiming  degraded 
women  from  a  life  of  shame,  and  bringing  them  back 
to  the  sweet  influences  of  religion ;  who  snatch  the 
abandoned  offspring  of  sin  from  temporal  and  spirit 
ual  death,  and  make  them  pious  and  useful  mem 
bers  of  society,  becoming  more  than  mothers  to 
them ;  who  rescue  children  from  ignorance,  and  in 
stil  into  their  minds  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 

We  can  point  to  numberless  saints  also  among  the 
laity.  I  dare  assert,  that  in  almost  every  congrega 
tion  in  the  Catholic  world,  men  and  women  are  to  be 
found  who  exhibit  a  fervent  piety  and  a  zeal  lor 
religion  which  render  them  worthy  of  being  named 
after  the  Annas,  the  Aquilas,  and  the  Priscillas  of 
the  New  Testament.  They  attract  not  indeed  the 
admiration  of  the  public,  because  true  piety  is  unos- 


44  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS, 

tentatious,  and  seeks  a  "  life  hidden  with  Christ  in 
God."  ' 

It  rniret  not  be  imagined  that,  in  proclaiming  the 
sanctity  of  the  Church,  I  am  attempting  to  prove 
that  all  Catholics  are  holy.  I  am  sorry  to  confess 
that  corruption  of  morals  is  too  often  found  among 
professing  Catholics.  We  cannot  close  our  eyes 
to  the  painful  fact  that  too  many  of  them,  far  from 
living  up  to  the  teachings  of  their  Church,  are 
sources  of  melancholy  scandal.  "It  must  be  that 
scandals  come,  but  woe  to  him  by  whom  the  scan 
dal  cometh."  I  also  admit  that  the  sin  of  Catholics 
is  more  heinous  in  the  sight  of  God  than  that  of 
their  separated  brethren,  because  they  abuse  more 
grace. 

But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  neither  God 
nor  His  Church  forces  any  man's  conscience.  To 
all  He  says  by  the  mouth  of  His  Prophet:  "Behold 
I  set  before  you  the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of 
death,"  (Jer.  xxi.  8.)  The  choice  rests  with  your 
selves. 

It  is  easy  to  explain  why  so  many  disedifying 
members  are  always  found  clinging  to  the  robes  of 
the  Church,  their  spiritual  Mother,  and  why  she 
never  shakes  them  off,  nor  disowns  them  as  her  chil 
dren.  The  Church  is  animated  by  the  spirit  of  her 
Founder,  Jesus  Christ.  He  "came  into  this  world 
to  save  sinners."2  He  "came  not  to  call  the  just 
but  sinners  to  repentance."  He, was  the  Friend  of 

1  Coloss.  iii.  3.  a  I.  Tim.  i.  15. 


HOLINESS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  45 

Publicans  and  Sinners  that  He  might  make  them  the 
friends  of  God.  And  they  clung  to  Him,  knowing 
His  compassion  for  them. 

The  Church,  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  her  divine 
Spouse,  never  repudiates  sinners,  nor  cuts  them  off 
from  her  fold,  no  matter  how  grievous  or  notorious 
may  oe  their  moral  delinquencies ;  not  because  she 
connives  at  their  sin,  but  because  she  wishes  to  re 
claim  them.  She  bids  them  never  to  despair,  and 
tries,  at  least,  to  weaken  their  passions,  if  she  can 
not  altogether  reform  their  lives. 

Mindful  also  of  the  words  of  our  Lord  :  "  The  poor 
have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them,"  l  the  Church 
has  a  tender  compassion  for  the  victims  of  poverty, 
which  has  its  train  of  peculiar  temptations  and  in 
firmities.  Hence,  the  poor  and  the  sinners  cling  to 
the  Church,  as  they  clung  to  our  Lord  during  His 
mortal  life. 

We  know,  on  the  other  hand,  that  sinners  who  are 
guilty  of  gross  crimes  which  shock  public  decency, 
are  virtually  excommunicated  from  Protestant  Com 
munions.  And  as  for  the  poor,  the  public  press 
often  complains  that  little  or  no  provision  is  made 
for  them  in  Protestant  Churches.  A  gentleman  in 
formed  me  that  he  never  saw  a  poor  person  enter  aii 
Episcopal  Church  which  was  contiguous  to  his  resi 
dence.  •» 

These  excluded  sinners  and  victims  of  penury 
either  abandon  Christianity  altogether,  or  find 

1  Matt.  xi.  5. 


46          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 

refuge  in  the  bosom  of  their  true  Mother,  the  Catho 
lic  Church,  who,  like  her  divine  Spouse,  claims  the 
afflicted  as  her  most  cherished  inheritance.  The 
parables  descriptive' of  this  Church  which  our  Lord 
employed,  also  clearly  teach  us  that  the  good  and 
bad  shall  be  joined  together  in  the  Church  as  long 
as  her  earthly  mission  lasts.  The  kingdom  of  God 
is  like  a  field  in  which  the  cockle  is  allowed  to  grow 
up  with  the  good  seed  until  the  harvest-time  ; 1  it  is 
like  a  net  which  encloses  good  fish  and  bad  until 
the  hour  of  separation  comes.2  So,  too,  the  Church 
is  that  great  house3  in  which  there  are  not  only 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  but  also  of  wood  and 
(day. 

The  Fathers  repeat  the  teaching  of  Scripture. 
St.  Jerome  says :  "  The  ark  of  Noah  was  a  type  of 
the  Church.  As  every  kind  of  animal  was  in  that, 
so  in  this  there  are  men  of  every  race  and  character. 
As  in  that  were  the  leopard  and  the  kids,  the  wolf 
and  the  lambs,  so  in  this  there  are  to  be  found  the 
just  and  the  sinful,  that  is,  vessels  of  gold  and  silver 
along  with  those  of  wood  and  clay." 4 

St.  Gregory  the  Great  writes :  "  Because  in  it  (the 
Church)  the  good  are  mingled  with  the  bad,  the 
reprobate  with  the  elect,  it  is  rightly  declared  to  be 
similar  to  the  wise  and  the  foolish  virgins." 5 

Listen  to  St.  Augustine:  "«Let  the  mind  recall 
the  threshing-floor  containing  straw  and  wheat ;  the 

1  Matt.  xiii.  2-1-37.      2  Ibid.  xiii.  47.      3 II.  Tim.  ii.  20. 
4  Dial,  contra  Lucif.  6  Horn.  12,  in  Evang. 


HOLINESS  OF  THE  CHTTKCH.  47 

nets  in  which  are  inclosed  good  and  bad  fish ;  the 
ark  of  Noah  in  which  were  clean  and  unclean 
animals,  and  you  will  see  that  the  Church  from 
now  until  the  judgment  day  contains  not  only  sheep 
and  oxen,  that  is,  saintly  laymen  and  holy  ministers, 
but  also  the  beasts  of  the  field.  .  .  .  For  the  beasts 
of  the  field  are  men  who  take  delight  in  carnal 
pleasures,  the  field  being  that  broad  way  which  leads 
to  perdition" l 

The  occasional  scandals  existing  among  members 
of  the  Church  do  not  invalidate  or  impair  her  claim 
to  the  title  of  sanctity.  The  spots  on  the  sun  do  not 
mar  his  brightness.  Neither  do  the  moral  stains  of 
some  members  sully  the  brilliancy  of  her  "  who 
cometh  forth  as  the  morning  star,  fair  as  the  moon, 
bright  as  the  sun."  2  The  cockle  that  grows  amidst 
the  wheat  does  not  destroy  the  beauty  of  the  ripened 
harvest.  The  sanctity  of  Jesus  was  not  sullied  by 
the  presence  of  Judas  in  the  Apostolic  College. 
Neither  can  the  moral  corruption  of  a  few  disciples 
tarnish  the  holiness  of  the  Church.  St.  Paul  calls 
the  Church  of  Corinth  a  congregation  of  saints,8 
though  he  reproves  some  scandalous  members  among 
them.4 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  corruption  of  morals  pre 
vailed  in  the  sixteenth  century  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  call  for  a  sweeping  reformation,  and  that  laxity 
of  discipline  invaded  even  the  sanctuary. 

But  how  was  this  reformation  of  morals  to  be 

1  lu  Pa.  viii.,  n.  13.    * Cant.  vi.  9.    » I.  Cor.  i.    *  I.  Cor.  *. 


48          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

effected?  Was  it  to  be  accomplished  by  a  force 
operating  inside  the  Church,  or  outside?  1  an 
swer,  that  the  proper  way  of  carrying  out  this  ref 
ormation,  was  by  battling  against  iniquity  within 
the  Church  ;  for  there  was  not  a  single  weapon 
which  men  could  use  in  waging  war  with  vice 
outside  the  Church,  which  they  could  not  wield 
with  more  effective  power  when  fighting  under  the 
authority  of  the  Church.  The  true  weapons  of  an 
Apostle,  at  all  times,  have  been  personal  virtue, 
prayer,  preaching,  and  the  Sacraments.  Every  gen 
uine  reformer  had  those  weapons  at  his  disposal 
within  the  Church. 

She  possesses,  at  all  times,  not  only  the  principle 
of  undying  vitality,  but,  besides,  all  the  elements  of 
reformation,  and  all  the  means  of  sanctification, 
With  the  weapons  I  have  named,  she  purified  mor 
als  in  the  first  century,  and  wTith  the  same  weapons 
she  went  to  work  with  a  right  good  will,  and  ef 
fected  a  moral  reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
She  was  the  only  effectual  spiritual  reformer  of  that 
age. 

What  was  the  Council  of  Trent  but  a  great  re 
forming  tribunal?  Most  of  its  decrees  are  directed 
to  the  reformation  of  abuses  among  the  clergy  and 
the  laity,  and  the  salutary  fruits  of  its  legislation 
are  reaped  even  to  this  day. 

St  Charles  Borromeo,  the  nephew  of  a  reigning 
Pope,  was  the  greatest  reformer  of  his  time.  Ilia 
whole  Episcopal  career  was  spent  in  elevating  the 
morals  of  his  clergy  and  people.  Bartholomew, 


HOLINESS   OF  THE   CHUBCH.  49 

Archbishop  of  Braga,  in  Portugal,  preached  an  in 
cessant  crusade  against  iniquity  in  high  and  low 
places.  St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola  and  St.  Alphonsus, 
with  their  companions,  were  conspicuous  and  success 
ful  reformers  throughout  Europe.  St.  Philip  Ncri 
was  called  the  modern  Apostle  of  Rome,  because  of 
his  happy  efforts  in  dethroning  vice  in  that  city. 
All  these  Catholic  Apostles  preached  by  example  as 
well  as  by  word. 

How  do  Luther  and  Calvin,  and  Zuinglius  and 
Knox,  and  Henry  VIII.  compare  with  these  genu 
ine  and  saintly  reformers,  both  as  to  their  moral 
character  and  the  fruit  of  their  labors?  The  pri 
vate  lives  of  these  pseudo-reformers  were  stained  by 
cruelty,  rapine,  and  licentiousness;  and  as  the  result 
of  their  propagandism,  history  records  civil  wars, 
and  bloodshed,  and  bitter  religious  strife,  and  the 
dismemberment  of  Christianity  into  a  thousand  sects. 

Instead  of  co-operating  with  the  lawful  authori 
ties  in  extinguishing  the  flames  which  the  passions 
of  men  had  enkindled  in  the  city  of  God,  these 
faithless  citizens  fly  from  the  citadel  which  they 
had  vowed  to  defend ;  then  joining  the  enemy,  they 
hasten  back  to  fan  the  conflagration,  and  to  increase 
the  commotion.  And  they  overturn  the  very  altars 
before  which  they  previously  sacrificed  as  consecrated 
priests.1  They  sanctioned  rebellion  by  undermining 
the  principle  of  authority. 

1  Luther,  Zuinglius,  and  Knox  had  been  ordained  priests. 
Calvin  had  studied  for  the  priesthood,  but  did  not  receive 
Orders 

5  D 


50          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

What  a  noble  opportunity  they  lost  of  earning 
for  themselves  immortal  honors  from  God  and  man! 
If,  instead  of  raising  the  standard  of  revolt,  they  had 
waged  war  upon  their  own  passions,  and  fought  with 
the  Catholic  reformers  against  impiety,  they  would 
be  hailed  as  true  soldiers  of  the  cross.  They 
would  be  welcomed  by  the  Pope,  the  Bishops  and 
clergy,  and  by  all  good  men.  They  might  be  hon 
ored  to-day  on  our  altars,  and  might  have  a  niche 
in  our  temples,  side  by  side  with  those  of  Charles 
Borromeo  and  Ignatius  Loyola;  and  instead  of  a 
divided  army  of  Christians,  we  should  behold  to 
day  a  united  Christendom,  spreading  itself  irre 
sistibly  from  nation  to  nation,  and  bringing  all 
kingdoms  to  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CATHOLICITY. 

rPHAT  Catholicity  is  a  prominent  note  of  the 
JL  Church,  is  evident  from  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
which  says .  "  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church/' 
The  word  Catholic,  or  Universal,  signifies  that  the 
true  Church  is  not  circumscribed  in  its  extent,  like 
human  empires,  nor  confined  to  one  race  of  people, 
like  the  Jewish  Church,  but  that  she  is  diffused  over 
every  nation  of  the  globe,  and  counts  her  children 
among  all  tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues  of  the 
earth. 


CATHOLICITY.  51 

This  glorious  Church  is  foreshadowed  by  the 
Psalmist,  when  he  sings :  "  All  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  be  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  all  the  kindreds 
of  the  Gentiles  shall  adore  in  His  sight ;  for  the 
kingdom  is  the  Lord's,  and  He  shall  have  dominion 
over  the  nations."1  The  Prophet  Malachy  saw  in 
the  distant  future  this  world-wide  Church,  when  He 
wrote :  "  From  the  rising  of  the  sun,  to  the  going 
down,  My  name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles ;  and 
in  every  place  there  is  sacrifice,  and  there  is  offered 
to  My  name  a  clean  oblation  ;  for  My  name  is  great 
among  the  Gentiles,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts."2 

When  our  Saviour  gave  commission  to  His 
Apostles,  He  assigned  to  them  the  whole  world  as 
the  theatre  of  their  labors,  and  the  entire  human 
race,  without  regard  to  language,  color,  or  nation 
ality,  as  the  audience  to  whom  they  were  to  preach. 
This  is  evident  from  the  following  passages :  "  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations"  3  "  Go  ye  into 
the  whole  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature." 4  "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  Me  in 
Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  Samaria,  and  even 
to  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth" 6 

And  so  it  came  to  pass.  The  Apostles  scattered 
themselves  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  "  Their  sound,"  says  St.  Paul, 
"  went  over  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto  the 
ends  of  the  whole  world." 6 

j  >Ps.  xii.  2Mal.  i.  11.  3Matt.  xxviii.  19. 

*Mark  xvi.  15.  6  Acts  i.  8.  «Kom.  x.  18. 


52  THE   FAITH   OP   OUR   FATHERS. 

St.  Justin  Martyr,  was  able  to  say,  about  one 
hundred  years  after  Christ,  that  there  was  no  race 
of  men,  whether  Barbarians  or  Greeks,  or  any  other 
people  of  what  name  soever,  among  whom  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  was  not  invoked.  And  St.  Irenseus, 
writing  at  the  end  of  the  second  century,  tells  us 
that  the  religion  so  marvellously  propagated  through 
out  the  whole  world,  was  not  a  vague,  ever-chaDging 
form  of  Christianity,  but  that  "  this  faith  and  doc 
trine  and  tradition  preached  throughout  the  globe 
is  as  uniform  as  if  the  Church  consisted  of  one 
family,  possessing  one  soul  and  heart,  and  as  if  she 
had  but  one  mouth.  For,  though  the  languages  of 
the  world  are  dissimilar,  her  doctrine  is  the  same. 
The  churches  founded  in  Germany,  in  the  Celtic 
nations,  in  the  East,  in  Egypt,  in  Lybia,  and  in  the 
centres  of  civilization,  do  not  differ  from  each  other ; 
but  as  the  sun  gives  the  same  light  throughout  the 
world,  so  does  the  light  of  faith  shine  everywhere  the 
same,  and  enlighten  all  men  who  wish  to  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth."1  "We  are  but  of 
yesterday,"  says  Tertullian,  "  and  already  have  we 
filled  your  cities,  towns,  islands,  your  council-halls 
and  camps,  .  .  .  the  palace,  senate,  forum :  we  have 
left  you  only  the  temples." a 

This  Catholicity,  or  universality,  is  not  to  be 
found  in  any,  or  in  all,  of  the  combined  communions 
separated  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

The  Schismatic  churches  of  the   East   have   no 

'Adv.  Hser.,  1.  1.  'Apologet.,  c.  37. 


CATHOLICITX.  53 

claim  to  this  title,  because  they  are  confined  withio 
the  Turkish  and  Russian  dominions,  and  number  not 
more  than  sixty  millions  of  souls. 

The  Protestant  churches,  even  taken  collectively, 
(as  separate  communions  they  are  a  mere  handful,) 
are  too  insignificant  in  point  of  numbers,  and  too 
circumscribed  in  their  territorial  extent,  to  have  any 
pretensions  to  the  title  of  Catholic.  All  the  Prot 
estant  denominations  are  estimated  at  sixty-five  mil 
lions,  or  less  than  one-fifth  of  those  who  bear  the 
Christian  name.  They  repudiate,  moreover,  and  pro 
test  against  the  name  of  Catholic,  though  they  con 
tinue  to  say  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  "  I  believe  in 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church." 

That  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  alone  deserves 
the  name  of  Catholic  is  so  evident,  that  it  is  ridiculous 
to  deny  it.  Ours  is  the  only  Church  which  adopts 
this  name  as  her  official  title.  We  have  possession, 
which  is  nine-tenths  of  the  law.  We  have  ex 
clusively  borne  this  glorious  appellation  in  troubled 
times,  when  the  assumption  of  this  venerable  title 
exposed  us  to  insult,  persecution,  and  death;  and  to 
attempt  to  deprive  us  of  it  at  this  late  hour,  would 
be  as  fruitless  as  the  efforts  of  the  French  Revolution 
ists,  who  sought  to  uproot  all  traces  of  the  old  civiliza 
tion  by  assigning  new  names  to  the  days  and  seasons 
of  the  year. 

Passion  and  prejudice  and  bad  manners  may  aftix 
on  us  the  epithets  of  Romish  and  Papist  and  Ultra 
montane,  but  the  calm,  dispassionate  mind,  of  what- 
5* 


54  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

ever  faith,  all  the  world  over,  knows  us  only  by  the 
name  of  Catholic.  . 

So  great  is  the  charm  attached  to  the  name  of 
Catholic,  that  a  portion  of  the  Episcopal  body  some 
times  usurp  the  title  of  Catholic,  though  in  their  of 
ficial  books  they  are  named  Protestant  Episcopalians. 
If  they  think  that  they  have  any  just  claim  to 
the  name  of  Catholic,  why  not  come  out  openly 
and  write  it  on  the  title-pages  of  their  Bibles  and 
Prayer-Books  ?  Afraid  of  going  so  far,  they  gratify 
their  vanity  by  privately  calling  themselves  Catholics. 
But  the  delusion  is  so  transparent,  that  the  attempt 
must  provoke  a  smile  even  among  themselves. 

Should  a  stranger  ask  one  of  them  to  direct  him 
to  the  Catholic  Church,  they  would  instinctively 
point  out  to  him  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church. 

The  sectarians  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
as  St,  Augustine  tells  us,  used  to  attempt  the  same 
pious  fraud,  but  signally  failed  : 

"  We  must  hold  fast  to  the  Christian  religion,  and 
to  the  communion  of  that  Church  which  is  Catholic, 
and  which  is  called  Catholic  not  only  by  those  who 
belong  to  her,  but  also  by  all  her  enemies.  Whether 
they  will  it  or  not,  the  very  heretics  themselves,  and 
followers  of  schism,  when  they  convert,  not  with 
their  own,  but  with  outsiders,  call  that  only  Catholic 
which  is  really  Catholic.  For  they  cannot  be  under 
stood,  unless  they  distinguish  her  by  that  name,  by 
which  she  is  known  throughout  the  whole  earth."1 

»St.  Aug.  de  Ver.  Bel.,  c.  7,  n.  12. 


CATHOLICITY.  53 

We  possess  not  only  the  name,  but  also  the  real 
ity.  A  single  illustration  will  suffice  to  exhibit  in 
a  strong  light  the  wide-spread  dominion  of  the  Cath 
olic  Church,  and  her  just  claims  to  the  title  of 
Catholic.  Take  the  Ecumenical  Council  of  the 
Vatican,  opened  in  1869,  and  presided  over  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.  Of  the  thousand  Bishops  and  up 
wards  now  comprising  the  hierarchy  of  the  Cath 
olic  Church,  nearly  eight  hundred  attended  the 
opening  session,  the  rest  being  unavoidably  absent. 
All  parts  of  the  habitable  globe  were  represented 
at  the  Council. 

The  Bishops  assembled  from  Great  Britain,  Ire 
land,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  from  al 
most  every  nation  and  principality  in  Europe. 
They  met  from  Canada,  the  United  States,  Mexico, 
and  South  America,  and  from  the  islands  of  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  They  were  gathered  to 
gether  from  different  parts  of  Africa  and  Oceanica. 
They  went  from  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  Eu 
phrates,  the  cradle  of  the  human  race ;  and  from 
the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  the  cradle  of  Christian 
ity.  They  travelled  to  Rome  from  Mossul,  built 
near  ancient  Nineveh,  and  from  Bagdad,  founded 
on  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  They  flocked  from  Da 
mascus  and  Mount  Libanus,  and  from  the  Holy 
Land,  sanctified  by  the  footprints  of  our  Blessed 
Redeemer. 

Those  Bishops  belonged  to  every  form  of  govern- 
ment,  from  the  republic  to  the  most  absolute  mon- 


66  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

archy.1  Their  faces  were  marked  by  almost  every 
shade  and  color  that  distinguish  the  human  family. 
They  spoke  every  civilized  language  under  the  sun. 
Kneeling  together  in  the  same  great  Council-Hall, 
truly  could  those  Prelates  exclaim,  in  the  language 
of  the  Apocalypse :  "  Thou  hast  redeemed  us,  O 
Lord,  to  God  in  Thy  blood,  out  of  every  tribe,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation." a 

What  the  Catholic  Church  lost  by  the  religious 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  old  world, 
she  has  more  than  regained  by  the  immense  acces 
sions  to  her  ranks  in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  in 
North  and  South  America. 

Never,  in  her  long  history,  was  she  numerically 
so  strong  as  she  is  at  the  present  moment,  when  her 
children  amount  to  about  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  millions,  or  double  the  number  of  those  who  bear 
the  name  of  Christians  outside  of  her  communion. 

In  her  alone  is  literally  fulfilled  the  magnificent 
prophecy  of  Malachy ;  for  in  every  clime,  and  in 
every  nation  under  the  sun,  are  erected  thousands 
of  Catholic  altars  upon  which  the  "  clean  oblation  " 8 
is  daily  offered  up  to  the  Most  High. 

It  is  said,  with  truth,  that  the  sun  never  sets  on 
British  dominions.  It  may  also  be  affirmed,  with 

1Does  not  this  fact  conclusively  demonstrate  the  truth  that 
the  Catholic  Church  can  subsist  under  every  form  of  govern 
ment?  And  is  it  not  an  eloquent  refutation  of  the  oft-re« 
peated  calumny  that  a  republic  is  not  a  favorable  soil  foi 
her  development  ? 

3  Apoc.  v.  9.  8  Malachy  i.  11. 


CATHOLICITY.  57 

equal  assurance,  that  wherever  the  British  drum-beat 
sounds,  aye,  and  wherever  the  English  language  is 
spoken,  there  you  will  find  the  English-speaking  Cath 
olic  Missionary  planting  the  cross  —  the  symbol  of 
salvation — side  by  side  with  the  banner  of  St.  George. 
Quite  recently,  a  number  of  European  emigrants 
arrived  in  Richmond.  They  were  strangers  to  our 
country,  to  our  customs,  and  to  our  language. 
Every  object  that  met  their  eye  sadly  reminded 
them  that  they  were  far  from  their  own  sunny 
Italy.  But  when  they  saw  the  cross  surmounting 
our  Cathedral,  they  hastened  to  it  with  a  joyful 
step.  I  saw  and  heard  a  group  of  them  giving 
earnest  expression  to  their  deep  emotions.  Enter 
ing  this  sacred  temple,  they  felt  that  they  had 
found  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  Once  more  they 
were  at  home.  They  found  one  familiar  spot  in 
a  strange  land.  They  stood  in  the  church  of  their 
fathers,  in  the  home  of  their  childhood ;  and  they 
seemed  to  say  in  their  hearts,  as  a  tear  trickled 
down  their  sunburnt  cheeks,  "  How  lovely  are 
Thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  Hosts  !  My  soul  long- 
eth  and  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  My 
heart  and  my  flesh  have  rejoiced  in  the  living 
God." l  They  saw  around  them  the  paintings  of 
familiar  saints  whom  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  reverence  from  their  youth.  They  saw  the  bap 
tismal  font  and  the  confessionals.  They  beheld 
the  altar  and  the  altar-rails  where  they  received 

1Ps.  Ixxxiii. 


58         THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

their  Maker.  They  observed  the  Priest  at  the  al 
tar  in  his  sacred  vestments.  They  saw  a  multitude 
of  worshippers  kneeling  around  them,  and  they 
felt  in  their  heart  of  hearts  that  they  were  once 
more  among  brothers  and  sisters,  with  whom  they 
had  "one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God 
and  Father  of  all." 

Everywhere  a  Catholic  is  at  home.  Secret  socie 
ties,  of  whatever  name,  form  but  a  weak  and  counter 
feit  bond  of  union,  compared  with  the  genuine  fellow 
ship  created  by  Catholic  faith,  hope,  and  charity. 

The  Koman  Catholic  Church,  then,  exclusively 
merits  the  title  of  Catholic,  because  her  children 
abound  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  and  comprise 
the  vast  majority  of  the  Christian  family. 


CHAPTER  V. 

APOSTOLICITY. 

yPHE  true  Church  must  be  Apostolical.  Hence 
JL  in  the  Creed  framed  in  the  first  Ecumenical 
Council  of  Nicsea,  in  the  year  325,  we  find  these 
words :  "  I  believe  in  the  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and 
Apostolic  Church." 

This  attribute  or  note  of  the  Church  implies  that 
the  true  Church  must  always  teach  the  identical 
doctrines  once  delivered  by  the  Apostles,  and  that 
her  ministers  must  derive  their  powers  from  the 
A.postles  by  an  uninterrupted  succession. 


APOSTOLICITT.  59 

Consequently,  no  church  can  claim  to  be  the  true 
one  whose  doctrines  differ  from  those  of  the  Apos 
tles,  or  whose  ministers  are  unable  to  trace,  by  an 
unbroken  chain,  their  authority  to  an  Apostolic 
source ;  just  as  our  Minister  to  England  can  exercise 
no  authority  in  that  country  unless  he  is  duly  com 
missioned  by  our  Government,  and  represents  its 
views. 

The  Church,  says  St.  Paul,  is  "built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles,"1  so  that  the  doctrine 
which  it  propagates,  must  be  based  on  Apostolic 
teachings.  Hence  St.  Paul  says  to  the  Galatians : 
"  Though  an  angel  from  heaven  preach  a  Gospel  to 
you  beside  that  which  we  have  preached  to  you,  let 
him  be  anathema." 2  The  same  Apostle  gives  this 
admonition  to  Timothy :  "  The  things  which  thou 
hast  heard  from  me  before  many  witnesses,  the  same 
commend  to  faithful  men  who  shall  be  fit  to  teach 
others  also." 8  Timothy  must  transmit  to  his  disci 
ples  only  such  doctrines  as  he  heard  from  the  lips 
of  his  master. 

Not  only  is  it  required  that  ministers  of  the  Gos 
pel  should  conform  their  teaching  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Apostles,  but  also  that  these  ministers  should  be 
ordained  and  commissioned  by  the  Apostles  or  their 
legitimate  successors.  "  Neither  doth  any  man," 
says  the  Apostle,  "  take  the  honor  to  himself,  but  he 
that  is  called  by  God,  as  Aaron  was."  *  This  text 
evidently  condemns  all  self-constituted  preachers 

1Eph.  ii.  20.     *Gal.  i.  8.     8 II.  Tim.  ii.  2.     *Heb.  v.  4 


60  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

and  reformers ;  for,  "  how  shall  they  preach,  unless 
they  be  sent?"1 — Sent,  of  course,  by  legitimate  au 
thority,  and  not  directed  by  their  own  caprice. 
Hence,  we  find  that  those  who  succeeded  the  Apos 
tles,  were  ordained  and  commissioned  by  them  to 
preach,  and  that  no  others  were  permitted  to  exercise 
this  function.  Thus  we  are  told  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  "  had  ordained  for  them  priests  in  every 
church."  2  And  the  Apostle  says  to  Titus  :  "  For 
this  cause  I  left  thee  in  Crete,  ....  that  thou 
shouldst  ordain  priests  in  every  city,  as  I  also  ap 
pointed  thee."3  Even  St.  Paul  himself,  though 
miraculously  called  and  instructed  by  God,  had 
hands  imposed  on  him,*  lest  others  should  be  tempted 
by  his  example  to  preach  without  Apostolic  war 
rant. 

To  discover,  therefore,  the  Church  of  Christ  among 
the  various  conflicting  claimants,  we  have  to  inquire, 
1st,  which  church  teaches  whole  and  entire  those  doc 
trines  that  were  taught  by  the  Apostles ;  2d,  what 
ministers  can  trace  back,  in  an  unbroken  line,  their 
missionary  powers  to  the  Apostles. 

The  Catholic  Church  alone  teaches  doctrines  which 
are  in  all  respects  identical  with  those  of  the  first 
teachers  of  the  Gospel.  The  following  parallel  lines 
exhibit  some  examples  of  the  departure  of  the  Prot 
estant  bodies  from  the  primitive  teachings  of  Chris 
tianity,  and  the  faithful  adhesion  of  the  Catholie 
Church  to  them. 

1  Bom.  x.  15.     a  Acts  xiv.  22.    3  Tit.  i.  5.    4  Acts  xiii.  2. 3. 


APOSTOLICITY. 


Gl 


AKWTOLIC  OHUBCH. 

CATHOLIC  CHUECH. 

PXOTKSTAXT  CHtJKCHRS. 

1.    Our   Saviour    gives 

The    Catholic   Church 

All  other  Christian  com-. 

pre-enaiu  *ace    to    Peter 

gives     the     primacy    of 

muuions  practically  deny 

over  tba  other  Apostlea: 

honor  and  jurisdiction  to 

Peter's    supremacy    over 

"I  Trill  give  to  thee  the 

Peter  and  to  his  succes- 

the  other  Apostles. 

kpjs  of  the  kingdom  of 

8018. 

heaven."'    "Confirm  thy 

brethren."*     "Feed   My 

lambs  ;  feed  My  sheep."' 

2.  The  Apostolic  Church 

The    Catholic   Church 

All     tne      Protestant 

claimed  to  be  infallible  in 

alone,  of  all  the  Christian 

churches    repudiate    the 

her  teachings.  Hence  the 

communions,    claims    to 

claim    of    infallibility.— 

Apostles  spoke  with  un 

exercise  the  prerogative 

They   deny    that  such  a 

erring      authority,      and 

of    infallibility     in     her 

gift  is  possessed  by   any 

their  words  were  receiv 

teaching.     Her  ministers 

teachers  of  religion.   Tho 

ed  not  as  human  opin 

always   speak     from    the 

ministers   pronounce   no 

ions,  but  as  divine  truths. 

pulpit  as  having  author 

authoritative     doctrines, 

"  When  you  had  received 

ity,  and  the  faithful   re 

but  advance  opinions  aa 

from  us  the  word  of  God, 

ceive  with  implicit  confi 

embodying  their  private 

you  received  it  not  as  the 

dence  what   the  Church 

interpretation      of      the 

word  of  men,  but  (as  it 

teaches,     without     once 

Scripture.       And     their 

is  indeed)  the  word   of 

questioning  her  veracity. 

hearers  are  never  requir 

God."*    "  It  hath  seemed 

ed  to  believe  them,  but 

good  to  the   Holy  Ghost 

are    expected    to    draw 

and  to  us,"  say  the  as 

their     own     conclusions 

sembled     Apostles,    "  to 

from  the  Bible. 

lay    no    further    burden 

upon  you  than  these  ne 

cessary  things."* 

"Though  an  angel  from 

heaven  preach  a  gospel  to 

you    besides  that   which 

we  have  preached  to  you, 

let  him  be  anatneina." 

3.  Our  Saviour  enjoins 

The  Church  prescribes 

Protestants  have  no  law 

and   prescribes  rules  for 

fasting  to  the  faithful  at 

prescribing  fasts,  though 

fasting:      "When     thou 

stated    seasons,    particu 

some  may  fast  from  pri 

fastest,  anoint  thy  head 

larly  during  Lent. 

vate  devotion.  They  even 

and  wash  thy  face,   that 

A  Catholic  Priest  is  al 

try   to    cafci    ridicule    on 

thou  appear  not  to  men 

ways  fasting  when  he  of 

fasting,  a.s  a  work  of  su 

to  fast,  ...  and  thy  Fa 

ficiates  at  the  altar.    He 

pererogation,    detracting 

ther,  whoseeth  in  secret, 

breaks  his  fast  only  after 

from  the  merits  of  Christ. 

will  lepay  thee."? 

he    says    Mass.      When 

Neither  candidates  fot 

'Matt.  TTi.  18. 

"«  kcts  xv.  28. 


2  Luke  txii.  32.  »  Jobn.xxi.  15.  «  Thess.  ML  13. 

«  Gal.  i.  8.  T  lutt.  Ti.  17. 


THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 


AFOSTOLJO  CHUKCH. 

CATHOLIC  CHUKCH. 

PBOTE3TA1TT  CHUBCHE8. 

The  Apostles  faated  be 

Bishops    ordain    Priests, 

ordination,  nor  the  min 

fore  engaging  in  sacred 

they  are  always  fasting, 

isters  who  ordain  them, 

functions:  "They  minis 

an  well  as  the  candidates 

ever  fast  on  such  occa 

tered  to  the    Lord,  and 

for  ordination. 

sions. 

fasted."i      "And     when 

they  ordaine.i  priests  in 

every  city,  they  prayed 

with  fasting."* 

4.   "Let  women,"  says 

The    Catholic    Church 

Women,  especially  in 

the    Apostle,    "keep  si 

never  permits  women  to 

this     country,     publicly 

lence    in    the    churches. 

preach  in  the  house   of 

preach  in  Methodist  and 

For,  it  19  not  permitted 

God. 

other  churches,  with  the 

them  to  speak.  .  .  .  It  is 

sanction    of   the    church 

&  shame  for  a  woman  to 

elders. 

speak  in  the  church."3 

5.    St.    Peter    and    St. 

Every  Catholic  Bishop, 

No  denomination  per 

John  confirmed  the  new 

as  a  successor  of  the  Apos 

forms   the    ceremony  of 

ly   baptized  in   Samaria: 

tles,     likewi.se     imposes 

imposing   hands  in    thia 

"They     laid    hands    on 

hands  on    baptized    per 

country    except    Episco 

them,  and  they  received 

sons  in  the  Sacrament  of 

palians;   and  even  they 

the  Holy  Ghost."* 

Confirmation,    by    which 

do  not  recognize  Confir 

they    receive    the    Holy 

mation  as  a  Sacrament. 

Ghost. 

6.  Our  Saviour  and  His 

The    Catholic   Church 

The  Protestant  church 

Apostles  taught  that  the 

teaches,   with  our    Lord 

es  (except,  perhaps,  a  few 

Eucharist    contHins    the 

and  His  Apostles.that  the 

Ritualists)  condemn  the 

Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

Eucharist  contains  really 

doctrine  of  the  Real  Pres 

"Take  ye,  and  eat;  this 

and  indeed  the  Body  and 

ence   as    idolatrous,  and 

to  My    Body.  .  .  .  Drink 

Blood  of  Jesus  Christ  un 

say  that,  in  partaking  of 

ye  all  of   thin,  for  this  is 

der    the   appearance    of 

the  communion,  we  re 

My  Blood  "5 

bread  and  wine. 

ceive  only  a  memorial  of 

"The  chalice  of  bene 

Christ. 

diction   which   we  bless, 

is  it  not  the  communion 

of  the  Bloo/i   of   Christ; 

and  the  bread  which  we 

break,  is  it  not  the  par 

ticipation  of  the  Body  of 

the  Lord  ?  "  « 

7.    The    Aoostles  were 

The  Bishops  and  Priests 

Protestants  affirm,  on 

empowered   by    our   8a- 

of  the  Catholic  Church, 

the   contrary,    that  God 

»  Acts  xiii.  2.                               a  ACM  xtv.  22.                          »  I.  Cor.  xlv.  3*  36. 

«  Aeu  viii.  17.                              •  Matt.  xxvi.  26-28.                  «  I.  Cor.  x.  18. 

APOSTOLICTTY. 


63 


APOSTOLIC  CHUECH. 

CATHOLIC  CHCXCH. 

PBOTBSTAST  CHTOOHBO. 

vionr  to  forgive  sins:  — 

as  the  inheritors  of  Apos 

delegates  to  no  man  tbc 

"  Whose  sins  ye  shall  for 

tolic  prerogatives,  profess 

power  of  pardoning  sin. 

give,  they  are  forgiven."» 

to  exercise,  the  ministry 

"Gcd,"  says  St.  Paul, 

of  reconciliation,  and  to 

"hath   given  to  us    the 

forgive  sin*  in  the  name 

ministry    of    reconcilia 

of  Christ. 

tion."* 

8.  Regarding  the  sick, 

One  of  the  most  ordi 

No  such   ceremony  M 

St.  James  gives  this  in 

nary  duties  of  a  Catholic 

that    of    anointing    the 

struction:    "Is  any  man 

Priest  is   to    anoint    the 

sick  is  practised  by  any 

eick  among  you,  let  him 

sick  in  the  Sacrament  of 

Protestant  denomination. 

bring  in  the  priests  of  the 

Extreme  Unction.     If  a 

notwithstanding       tba 

Church,    and    let    them 

man  is  sick  among  us,  he 

Apostle's  injunction. 

pray  over  him,  anointing 

is  careful  to  call  in  the 

him  with  oil  in  the  name 

Priest  of  the  Church,  that 

of  the  Lord."* 

he  may  anoint  him  with 

oil  in  the  name  of  the 

Lord. 

9.  Of  marriage,  our  Sa 

Literally  following  the 

The  Protestant  church 

viour  says:  "Whosoever 

Apostle's  injunction,  the 

es,  as  is  well  known,  have 

•hall  put  away  his  wife 

Catholic  Church    forbids 

so  far  relaxed  this  rigor* 

*nd  marry  another,  coin- 

the  husband  and  wife  to 

ous  law  of  the  Gospel  as 

mitteth  adultery  against 

separate    from   one    an 

to  allow  divorced  persons 

ker.     And    if    the    wife 

other.    Or,  if  they  sepa 

to  remarry. 

shall  put  away  her  hus 

rate,  neither  of  them  can 

And  divorce  a  vinctdo 

band,  and  be  married  to 

marry  again  during  the 

is  granted  on  various  and 

another,  she  committeth 

life  of  the  other. 

even  trifling  pretoxta. 

fcdultery."* 

And    again    St.    Paul 

•ays  :  "  To  them  that  are 

married,  .  .  .  the   Lord 

commandeth,     that    the 

wife  depart  not  from  her 

husband,  and  if  she  de 

part,  that  she  remain  un 

married.  .  .  .  And  let  not 

the    husband    put   away 

his  wife."* 

10.    Our    Lord    recom 

Like  the  Apostle  and 

All    the    minister)!    ol 

mends  not  only  by  word, 

his  Master,  the  Catholic 

other      denomination* 

but  by  His  example,  to 

clergy  bind  themselves  to 

with    verv    rare    exoop- 

a  life  of  perpetual  chas-     tions,    marry.      And  far 


»U.  Cor.  v.  18.     *Ja 


i  v.  14.     4  Mark  x.  11, 13.     » I.  Cor.  ril.  10, 1U 


64 


THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 


APOSTOLIC  CHURCH. 

CATHOLIC  CHUKCH. 

I'KOTKSTAUT  CHUECHES. 

tion,  the  state  of  psrpet- 
nal  virginity.  St.  Paul 
also  exhorts  the  Corin 
thians  by  counsel  and  his 
own  example  to  the  same 
angelic  virtue:  "He  that 
giveth  his  virgin  in  mar 
riage,"  he  says,  "doeth 
well.  And  he  that  giveth 
her  not,  doeth  better."  1 

tity.  The  inmates  of  our 
convents  of  men  and  wo 
men  voluntarily  conse 
crate  their  virginity  to 
God. 

from  inculcating  th« 
Apostolic  counsel  of  celi 
bacy  to  any  of  their  flock, 
they  more  than  insinuate 
that  the  virtue  of  perpet 
ual  chastity,  though  rec 
ommended  by  St.  Paul 
is  impracticable. 

We  now  leave  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself 
which  Church  enforces  the  doctrines  of  the  Apostles 
in  all  their  pristine  vigor. 

To  show  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  only 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Apostles,  it  is  sufficient  to 
demonstrate  that  she  alone  can  trace  her  pedigree, 
generation  after  generation,  to  the  Apostles,  while 
the  origin  of  all  other  Christian  communities  can  be 
referred  to  a  comparatively  modern  date. 

The  most  influential  Christian  sects  existing  in 
this  country  at  the  present  time,  are  the  Lutherans, 
Episcopalians,  Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and  Bap 
tists.  The  other  Protestant  denominations  are  com 
paratively  insignificant  in  point  of  numbers,  and  are 
for  the  most  part  offshoots  from  the  Christian  com 
munities  just  named. 

Martin  Luther,  a  Saxon  monk,  was  the  founder 
of  the  church  which  bears  his  name.  He  was  born 
at  Eisleben,  in  Saxony,  in  1483,  and  died  in  1546. 

The  Anglican  or  Episcopal  Church  owes  its  origin 


APOSTOLICITY.  65 

to  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  The  immediate  cause 
of  his  renunciation  of  the  Roman  Church  was  the 
refusal  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  to  grant  him  a  divorce 
from  his  lawful  wife,  Catharine  of  Aragon,  that  he 
might  be  free  to  be  joined  in  wedlock  to  Anne 
Boleyn.  In  order  to  legalize  his  divorce  from  his 
virtuous  queeu,  the  licentious  monarch  divorced 
himself  and  his  kingdom  from  the  spiritual  su 
premacy  of  the  Pope. 

"  There  is  a  close  relationship,"  says  D'Aubigne*, 
"between  these  two  divorces,"  meaning  Henry's 
divorce  from  his  wife  and  England's  divorce  from 
the  Church.  Yes,  there  is  the  relationship  of  cause 
and  effect. 

Bishop  Short,  an  Anglican  historian,  candidly  ad 
mits  that  "  the  existence  of  the  church  of  England 
as  a  distinct  body,  and  her  final  separation  from 
Rome,  may  be  dated  from  the  period  of  the  divorce."1 

The  Book  of  Homilies,  in  the  language  of  fulsome 
praise,  calls  Henry  "  the  true  and  faithful  minister," 
and  gives  him  the  credit  for  having  abolished  in 
England  the  Papal  supremacy,  and  established  the 
new  order  of  things.2 

John  Wesley  is  the  acknowledged  founder  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Methodism  dates  from  the  year 
1729,  and  its  cradle  was  the  Oxford  University  ID 
England.  John  and  Charles  Wesley  were  students 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  England,  by  Thomas  V.  Short, 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph's,  p.  44. 
afiook  of  Homilies. 


66  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

at  Oxford.  They  gathered  arouDd  them  a  numbei 
of  young  men  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  fre 
quent  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  prayer 
Their  methodical  and  exact  mode  of  life  obtained 
for  them  the  name  of  Methodists.  The  Methodist 
church  in  this  country  is  the  offspring  of  a  colony 
sent  hither  from  England. 

^As  it  would  be  tedious  to  give  even  a  succinct 
history  of  each  sect,  I  shall  content  myself  with  pre 
senting  a  tabular  statement  exhibiting  the  name 
and  founder  of  each  denomination,  the  place  and 
the  date  of  its  origin,  and  the  names  of  the  authors 
from  whom  I  quote.  My  authorities  in  every  in 
stance  are  Protestants. 


APO8TOLICITY. 


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68          THE  FAITH  OP  OUB  PATHEB& 

From  this  brief  historical  tableau,  we  find  that  all 
the  Christian  sects  now  existing  in  the  United  States 
had  their  origin  since  the  year  1500.  Consequently, 
the  oldest  body  of  Christians  among  us,  outside  the 
Catholic  Church,  is  not  yet  four  centuries  old.  They 
all,  therefore,  come  fifteen  centuries  too  late  to  have 
any  pretensions  to  be  called  the  Apostolic  Church. 

But  I  may  be  told :  "  Though  our  public  history 
as  Protestants  dates  from  the  Reformation,  we  can 
trace  our  origin  back  to  the  Apostles."  This  I  say 
is  impossible.  First  of  all,  the  very  name  you  bear 
betrays  your  recent  birth ;  for  who  ever  heard  of  a 
Baptist  or  an  Episcopal,  or  any  other  Protestant 
church,  prior  to  the  Reformation?  Nor  can  you 
say:  "We  existed  in  every  age  as  an  invisible 
church."  Your  concealment,  indeed,  was  so  com 
plete,  that  no  man  can  tell,  to  this  day,  where  you 
lay  hid  for  sixteen  centuries.  But  even  if  you  did 
exist,  you  could  not  claim  to  be  the  Church  of 
Christ;  for  our  Lord  predicted  that  His  Church 
should  ever  be  as  a  city  placed  upon  the  mountain- 
top,  that  all  might  see  it,  and  that  its  ministers 
should  preach  the  truths  of  salvation  from  the 
watch-towers  thereof,  that  all  might  hear  them. 

It  is  equally  in  vain  to  tell  me  that  you  were  al 
lied  in  faith  to  the  various  Christian  sects  that  went 
out  from  the  Catholic  Church  from  age  to  age ;  for 
these  sects  proclaimed  doctrines  diametrically  op 
posed  to  one  another,  and  the  true  Church  must  be 
one  in  faith.  And  besides,  the  less  relationship  you 


APOSTOLICTTY.  69 

claim  with  many  of  these  seceders,  the  better  for 
you,  as  they  all  advocated  errors  against  Christian 
truth,  and  some  of  them  disseminated  principles  at 
variance  with  decency  and  morality. 

The  Catholic  Church,  on  the  contrary,  can  easily 
vindicate  the  title  of  Apostolic,  because  she  derives 
her  origin  from  the  Apostles.  Every  Priest  and 
Bishop  can  trace  his  genealogy  to  the  first  dis 
ciples  of  Christ  with  as  much  facility  as  the  most 
remote  branch  of  a  vine  can  be  traced  to  the  main 
stem. 

All  the  Catholic  Clergy  in  the  United  States,  for 
instance,  were  ordained  only  by  Bishops  who  are  hi 
active  communion  with  the  See  of  Rome.  These 
Bishops  themselves  received  their  commission  from 
the  Bishop  of  Rome.  The  present  Bishop  of  Rome, 
Pius  IX.,  is  the  successor  of  Gregory  XVI.,  who  suc 
ceeded  Pius  VIII.,  who  was  the  successor  of  Leo 
XII.  And  thus  we  go  back  from  century  to  cen 
tury  till  we  come  to  Peter,  the  first  Bishop  of  Rome, 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  Vicar  of  Christ.  Like 
the  Evangelist  Luke,  who  traces  the  genealogy  of 
our  Saviour  back  to  Adam  and  to  God,  we  can  trace 
the  pedigree  of  Pius  IX.  to  Peter  and  to  Christ. 
There  is  not  a  link  wanting  in  the  chain  which 
binds  the  humblest  Priest  in  the  land  to  the  Prince 
of  the  Apostles.  And  although  on  a  few  occasions 
there  happened  to  be  two  or  even  three  claimants 
for  the  chair  of  Peter,  these  counter-claims  could  no 
more  affect  the  validity  of  the  legitimate  Pope  than 


70          THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

the  struggle  of  two  contestants  for  the  Presidency 
could  invalidate  the  title  of  the  recognized  chief 
Magistrate. 

It  was  by  pursuing  this  line  of  argument  that 
the  early  Fathers  demonstrated  the  Apostolicity  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  refuted  the  pretensions  of 
cotemporary  sectaries.  St.  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  and 
St.  Augustine  give  catalogues  of  the  Bishops  of 
Rome  who  flourished  up  to  their  respective  times, 
with  whom  it  was  their  happiness  to  be  in  com 
munion,  and  fhen  they  challenged  their  opponents 
to  trace  their  lineage  to  the  Apostolic  See.  "Let 
them,"  says  Tertullian,  in  the  second  century,  "  pro 
duce  the  origin  of  their  church.  Let  them  exhibit 
the  succession  of  their  Bishops,  so  that  the  first  of 
them  may  appear  to  have  been  ordained  by  an 
Apostle,  or  by  an  apostolic  man  who  was  in  communion 
with  the  Apostles"1 

And  if  the  Fathers  of  the  fifth  century  considered 
it  a  powerful  argument  in  their  favor  that  they 
could  refer  to  an  uninterrupted  line  of  fifty  Bish 
ops  who  occupied  the  See  of  Rome,  how  much 
stronger  is  the  argument  to  us  who  can  now  ex 
hibit  five  times  that  number  of  Roman  Pontiffs 
who  have  sat  in  the  chair  of  Peter!  I  would  af 
fectionately  repeat  to  my  separated  brethren  what 
Augustine  said  to  the  Donatists  of  his  time :  "  Come 
to  us,  brethren,  if  you  wish  to  be  engrafted  in  the 
vine.  We  are  afflicted  in  beholding  you  lying  cut 

1  Lib.  de  Praescrip.,  c.  32. 


PERPETUITY.  71 

off  from  it.  Count  over  the  Bishops  from  the  very 
See  of  St.  Peter,  and  mark,  in  that  list  of  Fathers, 
how  one  succeeded  che  other.  This  is  the  rock 
against  which  the  proud  gates  of  hell  do  not  pre 
vail."  l 


.  CHAPTER  VI. 

PERPETUITY   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

T)ERPETUITY,  or  duration  till  the  end  of  time, 
-L  is  one  of  the  most  striking  marks  of  the  Church 
By  perpetuity  is  not  meant  merely  that  Christianity 
in  one  form  or  another  was  always  to  exist,  but  that 
the  Church  was  to  remain  forever  in  its  integrity, 
clothed  with  all  the  attributes  which  God  gave  it  iD 
the  beginning.  For,  if  the  Church  lost  any  of  her 
essential  characteristics,  such  as  her  unity  and 
sanctity,  which  our  Lord  imparted  to  her  at  the 
commencement  of  her  existence,  she  could  not  be 
said  to  be  perpetual,  because  she  would  not  be  the 
same  Institution. 

The  unceasing  duration  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is 
frequently  foretold  in  Sacred  Scripture.  The  Angel 
Gabriel  announces  to  Mary  that  Christ  "shall  reign 
over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,  and  of  his  kingdom 
there  shall  be  no  end." z  Our  Saviour  said  to  Peter . 
"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 

1  Psal.  contra  part  Donati.  2  Luke  i.  32,  33. 


72  TiJE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

against  it."1  Our  blessed  Lord  clearly  intimates 
here  that  the  Church  is  destined  to  be  assailed 
always,  but  to  be  overcome,  never. 

In  the  last  words  recorded  of  our  Redeemer  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  the  same  prediction  is 
strongly  repeated,  and  the  reason  of  the  Church'a 
indefectibility  is  fully  expressed :  "  Go  ye,  teach  all 
nations,  ....  and  behold  I  am  with  you  all  days, 
even  to  the  consummation  of  the  world."  2  This  sen 
tence  contains  three  important  declarations  :  1st,  The 
presence  of  Christ  with  His  Church,  "  Behold,  I  am 
with  you ; "  2d.  His  constant  presence,  without  an 
interval  of  one  day's  absence,  "  I  am  with  you  all 
days  ; "  3d.  His  perpetual  presence  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  consequently  the  perpetual  duration  of  the 
Church,  "  Even  to  the  consummation  of  the  world." 

Hence  it  follows  that  the  true  Church  must  have 
existed  from  the  beginning ;  it  must  have  had  not 
one  day's  interval  of  suspended  animation,  or  sepa 
ration  from  Christ,  and  must  live  to  the  end  of  time. 

None  of  the  Christian  communions  outside  the 
Catholic  Church  can  have  any  reasonable  claim  to 
Perpetuity,  since,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  they  are  all8 of  recent  origin. 

The  indestructibility  of  the  Catholic  Church  is 
truly  marvellous,  and  well  calculated  to  excite  the 
admiration  of  every  reflecting  mind,  when  we  con 
sider  the  number  and  variety,  and  the  formidable 
power  ol'  the  enemies  with  whom  she  had  to  contend 

1  Matt.  xvi.  18.  2  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

8  Except  some  Oriental  sects  dating  back  to  the  fifth  and 
ninth  centuries. 


PERPETUITY.  73 

from  her  very  birth  to  the  present  time;  this  fact 
alone  stamps  divinity  on  her  brow. 

The  Church  has  been  constantly  engaged  in  a 
double  warfare,  one  foreign,  the  other  domestic  —  in 
foreign  war  against  Paganism  and  infidelity ;  in 
civil  strife  against  heresy  and  schism  fomented  by 
her  own  rebellious  children. 

From  the  day  of  Pentecost  till  the  victory  of 
Constantine  the  Great  over  Maxentius,  embracing  a 
period  of  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  years,  the 
Church  underwent  a  series  of  ten  persecutions 
unparalleled  for  atrocity  in  the  annals  of  history. 
Every  torture  that  malice  could  invent  was  re 
sorted  to,  that  every  vestige  of  Christianity  might 
be  eradicated.  "Christianas  ad  leones"  the  Chris- 
Hans  to  the  lions,  was  the  popular  war-cry. 

They  were  clothed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and 
thus  exposed  to  be  devoured  by  dogs.  They  were 
covered  with  pitch,  and  set  on  fire,  to  serve  as  lamp 
posts  to  the  streets  of  Rome.  To  justify  such  atroci 
ties,  and  to  smother  all  sentiments  of  compassion, 
these  persecutors  accused  their  innocent  victims  "of 
the  most  appalling  crimes. 

For  three  centuries  the  Christians  were  obliged  to 
worship  God  in  the  secrecy  of  their  chambers,  or  in 
the  Roman  catacombs,  which  are  still  preserved  to 
attest  the  undying  fortitude  of  the  martyrs,  and  the 
enormity  of  their  sufferings. 

And  yet  Pagan  Rome,  before  whose  standard  the 
7 


74  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

mightiest  nations  quailed,  was  unable  to  crush  the 
infant  Church  or  arrest  her  progress.  In  a  short 
time,  we  find  this  colossal  Empire  going  to  pieces, 
and  the  Head  of  the  Catholic  Church  dispensing 
laws  to  Christendom  in  the  very  city  from  which 
the  imperial  Cassars  had  promulgated  their  edicts 
against  Christianity ! 

During  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  the  Goths 
and  Vandals,  the  Huns,  Visigoths,  and  Lombards, 
and  other  immense  tribes  of  Barbarians,  came  down 
like  a  torrent  from  the  North,  invading  the  fairest 
portions  of  Southern  Europe.  They  dismembered 
the  Roman  Empire,  and  swept  away  nearly  every 
trace  of  the  old  Roman  civilization.  They  plundered 
cities,  levelled  churches,  and  left  ruin  and  desola 
tion  after  them.  •  Yet,  though  conquering  for  awhile, 
th^y  were  conquered  in  turn,  by  submitting  to  the 
sweet  yoke  of  the  Gospel.  And  thus,  as  even  the 
infidel  Gibbon  observes,  "  The  progress  of  Christian 
ity  has  been  marked  by  two  glorious  and  decisive 
victories  over  the  learned  and  luxurious  citizens  of 
the  Roman  Empire;  and  over  the  warlike  Bar 
barians  of  Scythia  and  Germany,  who  subverted  the 
empire  and  embraced  the  religion  of  the  Romans."1 

Mohammedanism  took  its  rise  in  the  seventh 
century  in  Arabia,  and  made  rapid  conquests  in 
Asia.  In  the  fifteenth  century,  Constantinople  was 
captured  by  the  followers  of  the  false  prophet,  who 
even  threatened  to  subject  all  Europe  to  their  sway. 

1  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Koman  Empire,  eh.  xxxvii.  p.  450. 


PERPETUITY.  75 

At  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  Pope,  the  kingdom 
of  Spain  and  the  republic  of  Venice  formed  an  offen 
sive  league  against  the  Turks,  who  were  signally  de 
feated  in  the  battle  of  Lepanto,  in  1571.  And  if 
the  Cross,  instead  of  the  Crescent,  surmounts  the 
cities  of  Europe  to-day,  it  is  indebted  for  this  price 
less  blessing  to  the  vigilance  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs. 

Another  adversary  more  formidable  and  danger 
ous  than  those  I  have  mentioned,  threatened  the 
overthrow  of  the  Church  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries.  I  speak  of  the  great  heresy  of  Arius, 
which  was  followed  by  those  of  Nestorius  and 
Eutyches. 

The  Arian  schism,  soon  after  its  rise,  spread 
rapidly  through  Europe,  Northern  Africa,  and  por 
tions  of  Asia.  It  received  the  support  of  immense 
multitudes,  and  flourished  for  awhile  under  the 
fostering  care  of  several  successive  emperors. 
Catholic  Bishops  were  banished  from  their  sees,  and 
their  places  were  filled  by  Arian  intruders.  The 
Church  which  survived  the  sword  of  Paganism, 
seemed  for  awhile  to  yield  to  the  poison  of  Arian- 
ism.  But  after  a  short  career  of  prosperity,  thig 
gigantic  sect  became  weakened  by  intestine  divisions, 
and  was  finally  swept  away  by  other  errors  which 
came  following  in  its  footsteps. 

You  are  already  familiar  with  the  great  religious 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  spread 
like  a  tornado  over  Northern  Europe,  and  threatened, 
if  that  were  possible,  to  engulf  the  bark  of  Peter. 


76         THE  FAITH  OP  OUR  FATHERS. 

More  than  half  of  Germany  followed  the  new  Gospel 
of  Martin  Luther.  Switzerland  submitted  to  the 
doctrines  of  Zuinglius.  The  faith  was  lost  in  Sweden 
through  the  influence  of  its  king,  Gustavus  Vasa. 
Denmark  conformed  to  the  new  creed  through  the 
intrigues  of  King  Christian  II.  Catholicity  was 
also  crushed  out  in  Norway,  England,  and  Scotland. 
Calvinism  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  Voltaireism 
in  the  eighteenth,  had  gained  such  a  foothold  in 
France,  that  the  faith  of  that  glorious  Catholic 
nation  twice  trembled  in  the  balaree.  Ireland  alone, 
of  all  the  nations  of  Northern  Europe,  remained 
faithful  to  the  ancient  Church. 

Let  us  now  calmly  survey  the  field  after  the  din. 
and  smoke  of  battle  have  passed  away.  Let  us 
examine  the  condition  of  the  old  Church,  after  hav 
ing  passed  through  those  deadly  conflicts.  We  see 
her  numerically  stronger  to-day  than  at  any  pra- 
vious  period  of  her  history.  The  losses  she  sustained 
in  the  old  world  are  more  than  compensated  by  her 
acquisitions  in  the  new.  She  has  already  recovered 
a  good  portion  of  the  ground  wrested  from  her  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  She  numbers  now  about  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  of  adherents. 
She  exists  to-day  not  an  effete  institution,  but  in  all 
the  integrity  and  fulness  of  life,  with  her  organism 
unimpaired,  more  united,  more  compact,  and  more 
vigorous  than  ever  she  was  before. 

The  so-called  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  cen 
tury  bears  many  points  of  resemblance  to  the  great 


PERPETUITY.  77 

Arian  heresy.  Bath  schisms  originated  with  priests 
impatient  of  the  yoke  of  the  Gospel,  fond  of  novelty, 
and  ambitious  of  notoriety.  Both  were  nursed  and 
sustained  by  the  reigning  Powers,  and  were  aug 
mented  by  large  accessions  of  proselytes.  Both 
spread  for  awhile  with  the  irresistible  force  of  a 
violent  hurricane,  till  its  fury  was  spent.  Both 
subsequently  became  subdivided  into  various  bod 
ies.  The  extinction  of  Protestantism  would  com 
plete  the  parallel. 

In  this  connection,  a  remark  of  De  Maistre  is 
worth  quoting :  "  If  Protestantism  bears  always  the 
same  name,  though  its  belief  has  been  perpetually 
shifting,  it  is  because  its  name  is  purely  negative, 
and  means  only  the  denial  of  Catholicity,  so  that 
the  less  it  believes,  and  the  more  it  protests,  the 
more  consistently  Protestant  it  will  be.  Since,  then, 
its  name  becomes  continually  truer,  it  must  subsist 
until  it  perishes,  just  as  an  ulcer  disappears  with  the 
last  atom  of  the  flesh  which  it  has  been  eating 
away." l 

But  similar  causes  will  produce  similar  results. 
As  both  revolutions  were  the  offspring  of  rebellion  ; 
as  both  have  been  marked  by  the  same  vigorous 
youth,  the  same  precocious  manhood,  the  same  pre 
mature  decay  and  dismemberment  of  parts ;  so  we 
are  not  rash  in  predicting  that  the  dissolution  which 
long  since  visited  the  former  is  destined,  sooner  or 
later,  to  overtake  the  latter.  But  the  Catholic 


1  Du  Pape.  1.  2,  c.  5. 


78  THE   FAITH    OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Church,  because  she  is  the  work  of  God,  is  always 
"renewing  her  strength,  like  the  eagle's."  ' 

I  would  now  ask  this  question  of  all  that  are  hos 
tile  to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  are  plotting 
her  destruction:  How  can  you  hope  to  overturn  an 
Institution  which  for  more  than  eighteen  centuries 
has  successfully  resisted  all  the  combined  assaults 
of  the  world,  of  men,  and  of  the  powers  of  darkness? 
What  means  will  you  employ  to  compass  her  ruin? 

I.  Is  it  the  power  of  Kings,  and  Emperors,  and 
Prime  Ministers?  They  have  tried  in  vain  to  crush 
her,  from  the  days  of  the  Roman  Caesars  to  those  of 
the  present  Chancellor  of  Germany. 

Many  persons  labor  under  the  erroneous  impres 
sion  that  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  have  been 
the  unvarying  supporters  of  the  Church,  and  that 
if  their  protection  were  withdrawn  she  would  soon 
collapse.  So  far  from  the  Church  being  sheltered 
behind  earthly  thrones,  her  worst  enemies  have  been, 
with  some  honorable  exceptions,  so-called  Christian 
Princes  who  were  nominal  children  of  the  Church. 
They  chafed  under  her  salutary  discipline ;  they 
wished  to  be  rid  of  her  yoke,  because  she  alone,  in 
times  of  oppression,  had  the  power  and  the  courage 
to  stand  by  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  place  hei 
breast  as  a  wall  of  brass  against  the  encroachment 
of  their  rulers.  With  calm  confidence  we  can  say 
with  the  Psalmist:  "Why  have  the  Gentiles  raged, 
and  thw  people  devised  vain  things  ?  The  kings  of 

1  Psalm  cii.  5. 


PERPETUITY.  70 

the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  princes  met  together, 
against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ.  Let  us 
break  their  bonds  asunder,  and  let  us  cast  away 
their  yoke  from  us. 

"  He  that  dwelleth  in  heaven  shall  laugh  at  them 
and  the  Lord  shall  deride  them."1 

II.  Can  the  immense  resources  and  organized 
power  of  rival  religious  bodies  succeed  in  absorb 
ing  her,  and  in  bringing  her  to  naught  ?  I  am  not 
disposed  to  undervalue  this  power.  Against  any 
human  force  it  would  be  irresistible.  But  if  the 
colossal  strength  and  incomparable  machinery  of 
the  Roman  Empire  could  not  prevent  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Church;  if  Arianism,  Nestorianism, 
Eutychianism  could  not  check  her  development, 
how  can  modern  organizations  stop  her  progress 
now,  when  in  the  fulness  of  her  strength? 

It  is  easier  to  preserve  what  is  created,  than  to 
create  anew. 

III.  But  we  have  been  told:  "Take  from  the 
Pope  his  Temporal  power,  and  the  Church  i>.  doomed 
to  destruction.  This  is  the  secret  of  her  strength ; 
strip  her  of  this,  and,  like  Samson  shorn  of  his  hair, 
she  will  betray  all  the  weakness  of  a  poor  mortal. 
Then  this  brilliant  luminary  will  wax  pale,  and  she 
will  sink  below  the  horizon,  never  more  to  rise 
again." 

For  more  than  seven  centuries  after  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Church,  the  Popes  had  no  sovereign  terri- 

1  Psalm  ii.  1-4. 


80  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

torial  jurisdiction.  How  could  she  have  outlived 
that  period,  if  the  temporal  power  were  essential  to 
her  perpetuity?  And  even  for  the  last  seven  yeara 
the  Pope  has  been  deprived  of  his  temporalities. 
This  loss,  however,  does  not  bring  a  wrinkle  on  the 
fair  brow  of  the  Church,  nor  does  it  retard  one  inch 
her  onward  march. 

IV.  Is  she  unable  to  cope  with  modern  inventions 
and  the  mechanical  progress  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury?  We  are  often  told  so;  but  far  from  hiding 
our  head,  like  the  ostrich  in  the  sand,  at  the  ap 
proach  of  these  inventions,  we  hail  them  as  messen 
gers  of  God,  and  will  use  them  as  Providential  in 
struments  for  the  further  propagation  of  the  faith. 

If  we  succeeded  so  well  before,  when  we  had  no 
ships  but  frail  canoes,  no  compass  but  our  eyes; 
when  we  had  no  roads  but  eternal  snows,  virgin 
forests,  and  trackless  deserts  ;  when  we  had  no  guide 
save  faith,  and  hope,  and  God — if  even  then  we 
succeeded  so  well  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  con- 
Qnes  of  the  earth,  how  much  more  can  we  do  now 
by  the  aid  of  telegraph,  steamships,  and  railroads? 

Yes,  O  men  of  genius,  we  bless  your  inventions ; 
we  bless  you,  ye  modern  discoveries ;  and  we  will 
impress  you  into  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  say : 
"Lightnings  and  clouds  bless  the  Lord;  all-  ye 
works  of  the  Lord  bless  the  Lord ;  praise  and  exalt 
him  above  all  forever."1 

The  utility  of  modern  inventions  to  the  Church 

1  Daniel  iri. 


PERPETUITY.  81 

has  lately  been  manifested  in  a  conspicuous  manner. 
The  Pope  called  a  council  of  all  the  Bishops  of  the 
world.  Without  the  aid  of  steam,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  them  to  assemble  ;  by  its  aid  they  were 
able  to  meet  from  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  earth. 

V.  But  may  not  the  light  of  the  Church  grow 
pale  and  be  extinguished  before  the  intellectual 
blaze  of  the  nineteenth  century  ?  Has  she  not  much 
to  fear  from  literature,  the  arts,  and  sciences?  She 
has  always  been  the  Patroness  of  literature,  and  the 
fostering  Mother  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  &he 
founded  aud  endowed  nearly  all  the  great  universi 
ties  of  Europe. 

Not  to  mention  those  of  the  continent,  a  bare 
catalogue  of  which  would  cover  a  large  space,  I 
may  allude  to  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam 
bridge,  the  two  most  famous  seats  of  learning  in 
England,  which  were  established  under  Catholic 
auspices,  centuries  before  the  Reformation. 

The  Church  also  founded  three  of  the  four  uni 
versities  now  existing  in  Scotland,  viz. :  St.  Andrew's 
in  1411,  Glasgow  in  1450,  and  Aberdeen  in  1494. 

Without  her,  we  should  be  deprived  to-day  of  the 
priceless  treasures  of  ancient  literature;  for,  in  pre 
serving  the  languages  of  Greece  and  Rome  from 
destruction,  she  rescued  the  classical  writers  of  those 
countries  from  oblivion.  Hallarn  justly  observes, 
that  were  it  not  for  the  diligent  labors  of  the  monks 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  our  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  would  be  as  vague  to* 
F 


82  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

day  as  our  information  regarding  the  Pyramids  of 
Egypt. 

And  as  for  works  of  art,  there  are  more  valuable 
monuments  of  art  contained  in  the  single  museum 
of  the  Vatican  than  are  to  be  found  in  all  our  coun 
try.  Artists  are  obliged  to  go  to  Kome  to  consult 
their  best  models.  Our  churches  are  not  only  tem 
ples  of  worship,  but  depositories  of  sacred  art. 

VI.  Is  it  liberty  that  will  destroy  the  Church? 
The  Church  breathes  freely  only  where  true  liberty 
is  found.  She  is  always  cramped  in  her  operations, 
wherever  despotism  casts  its  dark  shadow.  No 
where  does  she  enjoy  more  independence  than  here ; 
nowhere  is  she  more  vigorous  and  more  prosperous. 

Children  of  the  Church,  fear  nothing,  happeD 
what  will  to  her.  Christ  is  with  her,  and  therefore 
she  cannot  sink.  Caesar,  in  crossing  the  Adriatic, 
said  to  the  troubled  oarsman  :  "  Quid  times  ?  Csesa- 
rem  vehis."  What  Cresar  said  in  presumption,  Jesus 
says  with  truth :  What  fearest  thou  ?  Christ  is  in 
the  ship.  Are  we  not  positive  that  the  sun  will  rise 
to-morrow  and  next  day,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
world?  Why?  Because  God  so  ordained  when  He 
established  it  in  the  heavens ;  and  because  it  has  never 
failed  to  run  its  course  from  the  beginning.  Has 
not  Christ  promised  that  the  Church  should  always 
enlighten  the  world?  Has  He  not,  so  far,  fulfilled 
His  promise  concerning  His  Church  ?  Has  she  not 
gone  steadily  on  her  course  amid  storm  and  sunshine  ? 
The  fulfilment  of  the  past  is  the  best  security  for  the 
future. 


PERPETUITY.  83 

Amid  the  continual  changes  in  human  institu 
tions,  she  is  the  one  Institution  that  never  changes. 
Amid  the  universal  ruins  of  earthly  monuments,  she 
is  the  one  monument  that  stands  proudly  pre-emi 
nent.  Not  a  stone  in  this  building  falls  to  the  ground. 
Amid  the  general  destruction  of  kingdoms,  her  king 
dom  is  never  destroyed.  Ever  ancient  and  ever  new, 
Time  writes  no  wrinkles  on  her  divine  brow7. 

The  Church  has  seen  the  birth  of  every  govern 
ment  in  Europe,  and  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
she  shall  also  witness  the  death  of  them  all,  and 
chant  their  requiem.  She  was  more  than  fourteen 
hundred  years  old  when  Columbus  discovered  our 
continent,  and  the  foundation1  of  our  Republic  is  but 
as  yesterday  to  her. 

She  calmly  looked  on  while  the  Goth  and  the 
Visigoth,  the  Hun  and  the  Saxon  swept  like  a  tor 
rent  over  Europe,  subverting  dynasties.  She  has 
seen  monarchies  changed  into  republics,  and  repub 
lics  consolidated  into  empires  —  all  this  has  she  wit 
nessed,  while  her  own  divine  Constitution  has  re 
mained  unaltered.  Of  Her  we  can  truly  say  in  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist:  "They  shall  perish,  but 
thou  remainest ;  and  all  of  them  shall  grow  old  as 
a  garment.  And  as  a  vesture  Thou  shalt  change 
them,  and  they  shall  be  changed.  But  thou  art 
always  the  self-same,  and  thy  years  shalt  not  fail. 
The  children  of  thy  servants  shall  continue,  and 
their  seed  shall  be  directed  forever."  l 

1  Psalm  ci.  27-29. 


84  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

In  the  brightest  days  of  the  Republic  of  Pagar 
Rome,  the  Roman  said  with  pride:  "I  am  a  Roman 
citizen."  This  was  his  noblest  title.  He  was  proud 
of  the  Republic,  because  it  was  venerable  in  years, 
powerful  in  the  number  of  its  citizens,  and  distin 
guished  for  the  wisdom  of  its  statesmen.  What  a 
subject  of  greater  glory  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  Re 
public  of  the  Church  which  has  lasted  for  nine 
teen  centuries,  and  will  continue  till  time  shall  be 
no  more ;  which  counts  her  millions  of  children  in 
every  clime;  which  numbers  her  heroes  and  her  mar 
tyrs  by  the  thousand;  which  associates  you  with 
the  Apostles  and  Saints.  "  You  are  no  more  strangers 
and  foreigners,  but  you  are  fellow-citizens  with  the 
Saints  and  the  domestics  of  God,  built  upon  the  foun 
dation  of  the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone." l  Though  sep 
arated  from  earthly  relatives  and  parents,  you  need 
never  be  separated  from  her.  She  is  ever  with  us 
to  comfort  us.  She  says  to  us  what  her  divine 
Spouse  said  to  His  Apostles :  "  Behold,  I  am  with 
you  all  days,  even  to  the  consummation  of  the 
world." 2 

1  Eph.  ii.  19,  20  2  Matt,  xxviii  20. 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  85 


CHAPTER  VII. 

INFALLIBLE   AUTHORITY   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

THE  Church  has  authority  from  God  to  teach  re 
garding  faith  and  morals ;  and  in  her  teaching 
the  is  preserved  from  error  by  the  special  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost., 

The  prerogative  of  infallibility  is  clearly  deduced 
from  the  attributes  of  the  Church  already  mentioned. 
The  Church  is  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic. 
Preaching  the  same  creed  everywhere,  and  at  all 
times ;  teaching  holiness  and  truth,  she  is,  of  course, 
essentially  unerring  in  her  doctrine ;  for  what  is  one, 
holy,  or  unchangeable,  must  be  infallibly  true. 

That  the  Church  was  infallible  in  the  Apostolic 
age,  is  denied  by  no  Christian.  We  never  question 
the  truth  of  the  Apostles'  declarations ; l  they  were, 
in  fact,  the  only  authority  in  the  Church  for  the 
first  century.  The  New  Testament  was  not  com 
pleted  till  the  close  of  the  first  century.  There  i& 
no  just  ground  for  denying  to  the  Apostolic  teach 
ers  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  which  we  live,  a 
prerogative  clearly  possessed  by  those  of  the  first, 
especially  as  the  divine  Word  nowhere  intimates 
that  this  unerring  guidance  was  to  die  with  the 

1  See  Gal.  iv.  14;  1  Thess.  ii.  13. 


86  THE   FAITH   *>F   OUR   FATHERS. 

Apostles.  On  the  contrary,  as  the  Apostles  trans 
mitted  to  their  successors  their  power  to  preach,  to 
baptize,  to  ordain,  to  confirm,  etc.,  they  must  also 
have  handed  down  to  them  the  no  less  essential  gift 
of  infallibility. 

God  loves  us  as  much  as  He  loved  the  primitive 
Christians ;  Christ  died  for  us  as  well  as  for  them ; 
and  we  have  as  much  need  of  unerring  teachers  as 
they  had. 

It  will  not  suffice  to  tell  me :  "  We  have  an  infalli 
ble  Scripture  as  a  substitute  for  an  infallible  aposto- 
late  of  the  first  century,"  for  an  infallible  book  is  of 
no  use  to  me  without  an  infallible  interpreter,  as  the 
history  of  Protestantism  too  clearly  demonstrates. 

But  besides  these  presumptive  arguments,  we  ha^o 
positive  evidence  from  Scripture  that  the  Church 
cannot  err  in  her  teachings.  Our  blessed  Lord,  in 
constituting  St.  Peter  Prince  of  His  Apostles,  says 
to  him  :  "  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it." i  Christ  makes  here  a  solemn 
prediction  that  no  error  shall  ever  invade  His 
Church ;  and  if  she  fell  into  error,  the  gates  of  hell 
have  certainly  prevailed  against  her. 

The  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  affirm  that 
the  Church  did  fall  into  error ;  that  the  gates  of  hell 
did  prevail  against  her ;  that  from  the  sixth  to  the 
sixteenth  century  she  was  a  sink  of  iniquity.  The 
Book  of  Homilies  of  the  church  of  England  says 
that  the  Church  "  lay  buried  in  damnable  idolatry 

1  Matt.  xvi.  18. 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  87 

for  eight  hundred  years  and  more."  The  personal 
veracity  of  our  Saviour  and  of  the  Reformers  is  here 
at  issue,  for  our  Lord  makes  a  statement  which  they 
contradict.  Who  is  to  be  believed,  Jesus  or  the  Re 
formers  ? 

If  the  prediction  of  our  Saviour  about  the  pres 
ervation  of  His  Church  from  error  be  false,  then 
Jesus  Christ  is  not  God,  since  God  cannot  lie.  He 
is  not  even  a  Prophet,  since  He  predicted  falsehood. 
Nay,  He  is  an  impostor,  and  all  Christianity  is  a 
miserable  failure  and  a  huge  deception,  since  it  rests 
on  a  false  Prophet. 

But  if  Jesus  predicted  the  truth  when  He  declared 
that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against 
His  Church,  — and  who  dare  deny  it?  —  then  the 
Church  never  has,  and  never  could  have  fallen  from 
the  truth ;  then  the  Catholic  Church  is  infallible,  foi 
she  alone  claims  that  prerogative,  and  she  is  the  only 
Church  that  is  acknowledged  to  have  existed  from 
the  beginning.  Truly  is  Jesus  that  wise  Architect 
mentioned  in  the  Gospel,  "who  built  his  house  upon 
a  rock ;  and  the  rain  fell,  and  the  floods  came,  and 
the  winds  blew,  and  they  beat  upon  that  house,  and 
it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock."1 

Jesus  sends  forth  the  Apostles  with  plenipotentiary 
powers  to  preach  the  Gospel.  "As  the  Father," 
He  says,  "  hath  sent  Me,  I  also  send  you." a*  "Going 
therefore,  teach  all  nations,  teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  1  have  commanded  you."3 

Matt.  vii.  24,  et  seq.      2  John  xx.  21.      s  Matt,  xxviii.  la,  20 


£8  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

"  Preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." !  "  Ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  Me  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea,  and  Samaria,  and  even  to  the  uttermost  part 
of  the  earth."  2 

This  commission  evidently  applies  not  to  the 
Apostles  only,  but  also  to  their  successors,  to  the 
end  of  time,  since  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  the 
Apostles  personally  to  preach  to  the  whole  world. 

Not  only  does  our  Lord  empower  His  Apostles 
to  preach  the  Gospel,  but  He  commands,  and  under 
the  most  severe  penalties,  those  to  whom  they  preach 
to  listen  and  obey.  "Whosoever  will  not  receive 
you,  nor  hear  your  words,  going  forth  from  that 
house  or  city,  shake  the  dust  from  your  feet.  Amen, 
I  say  to  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  in  the  day  of  judgment 
than  for  that  city."8  "If  he  will  not  hear  the 
Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the  heathen  and  the 
publican."  *  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved  ;  he 
that  believeth  not,  shall  be  condemned."5  "He  that 
heareth  you,  heareth  Me ;  he  that  despiseth  you,  de 
spiseth  Me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him 
that  sent  Me." 6 

From  these  passages,  we  see,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
the  Apostles  and  their  successors  have  received  full 
powers  to  announce  the  Gospel ;  and  on  the  other, 
that  their  hearers  are  obliged  to  listen  with  docility, 

1Markxvi.  15.  2  Acts  i.  8.  3  Matt.  x.  14,  15. 

*  Matt,  xviii.  17.        5  Mark  xvi.  16.       6  Luke  x.  16. 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  89 

and  to  obey  not  merely  by  an  external  compliancy 
but  also  by  an  internal  assent  of  the  intellect.  If, 
therefore,  the  Catholic  Church  could  preach  error, 
would  not  God  Himself  be  responsible  for  the  error  ? 
And  could  not  the  faithful  soul  say  to  God  with  all 
reverence  and  truth :  Thou  hast  commanded  me, 
O  Lord,  to  hear  Thy  Church.  If  I  am  deceived  by 
obeying  her,  Thou  art  the  cause  of  my  error. 

But  we  may  rest  assured  that  an  all-wise  Provi 
dence  who  commands  His  Church  to  speak  in  His 
name,  will  so  guide  her  in  the  path  of  truth  that  she 
shall  never  lead  into  error  those  that  follow  her 
teachings. 

But  as  this  privilege  of  Infallibility  was  a  very 
extraordinary  favor,  our  Saviour  confers  it  on  the 
rulers  of  His  Church  in  language  which  removes  all 
doubt  from  the  sincere  inquirer,  and  under  circum 
stances  which  add  to  the  majesty  of  His  word. 
Shortly  before  His  death,  Jesus  consoles  His  disciples 
by  this  promise :  "  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  He 
shall  give  you  another  Paraclete,  that  He  may  abide 
with  you  forever.  .  .  .  But  when  He,  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  shall  come,  He  will  teach  you  all  truth."  l 

The  following  text  of  the  same  import  forms  the 
concluding  words  recorded  of  our  Saviour  in  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel :  "  All  power  is  given  to  Me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach 
all  nations,  .  .  .  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you.  And  behold. 

1  John  xiv.'  16 ;  xvi.  13. 


90  •   THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to  the  consummation 
of  the  world."  l 

He  begins  by  asserting  His  own  divine  authority 
and  mission.  "All  power  is  given,"  etc.  That 
power  He  then  delegates  to  His  Apostles  and  to 
their  successors :  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations,"  etc.  He  does  not  instruct  them  to  scatter 
Bibles  broadcast  over  the  earth,  but  to  teach  by 
word  of  mouth.  "And  behold!"  Our  Saviour 
never  arrests  the  attention  of  His  hearers  by  using 
the  interjection,  behold,  unless  when  He  has  some 
thing  unusually  solemn  and  extraordinary  to  com 
municate.  An  important  announcement  is  sure  to 
follow  this  word.  "Behold,  I  am  with  you." 
These  words,  "I  am  with  you"  are  frequently 
addressed  in  Sacred  Scripture,  by  the  Almighty,  to 
His  Prophets  and  Patriarchs,  and  they  always 
imply  a  special  presence  and  a  particular  super 
vision  of  the  Deity.1  They  convey  the  same  mean 
ing  in  the  present  instance.  Christ  says  equivalently, 
I  who  "  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,"  will 
protect  you  fiom  error,  and  will  guide  you  in  your 
speech.  I  will  be  with  you,  not  merely  during  your 
natural  lives,  not  for  a  century  only,  but  all  days, 
at  all  times,  without  intermission,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world. 

These  words  of  Jesus  Christ  establish  two  impor 
tant  facts :  1.  A  promise  to  guard  His  Church  from 
error.  2.  A  promise  that  His  presence  with  the 

-  Matt,  xxviii.  2  Ex.  iii.  12 ;  Jer.  xv.  20,  etc. 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  91 

Church  will  be  continuous,  without  any  interval  of 
absence,  to  the  consummation  of  the  world. 

And  this  is  also  the  sentiment  of  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles  writing  to  the  Ephesians :  God  "  gave 
some  indeed  Apostles,  and  some  Prophets,  and  some 
Evangelists,  and  others  Pastors  and  Teachers,  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  min 
istry,  for  the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ,  un 
til  we  all  meet  in  the  unity  of  faith,  .  .  .  that  we 
may  no  more  be  children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and 
carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the 
wickedness  of  men,  in  craft,  by  which  they  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive.".1 

Notwithstanding  these  plain  declarations  of  Scrip 
ture,  some  persons  think  it  an  unwarrantable  assump 
tion  for  the  Church  to  claim  infallibility.  But  mark 
the  consequences  that  follow  from  denying  it. 

If  your  church  is  not  infallible,  it  is  liable  to  err 
for  there  is  no  medium  between  infallibility  and  lia 
bility  to  error.  If  your  church  and  her  ministers 
are  fallible  in  their  doctrinal  teachings,  as  they 
admit,  they  may  be  preaching  falsehood  to  you, 
instead  of  truth.  If  so,  you  are  in  doubt  whether 
you  are  listening  to  truth  or  falsehood.  If  you  are 
in  doubt,  you  can  have  no  faith,  for  faith  excludes 
doubt,  and  in  that  state  you  displease  God,  for 
"without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God."9 
Faith  and  infallibility  must  go  hand  in  hand.  The 
one  cannot  exist  without  the  other.  There  can  be 

1  Eph.  iv.  11-14.  2  Heb.  xi.  6. 


92         THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

no  faith  in  the  hearer  unless  there  is  unerring  au 
thority  in  the  speaker  —  an  authority  founded  upon 
such  certain  knowledge  as  precludes  the  possibility 
of  falling  into  error  on  his  part,  and  including  such 
unquestioned  veracity  as  to  prevent  his  deceiving 
him  who  accepts  his  word. 

You  admit  infallible  certainty  in  the  physical 
sciences ;  why  should  you  deny  it  in  the  science  of 
salvation?  The  mariner,  guided  by  his  compass, 
knows,  amid  the  raging  storm  and  the  darkness  of 
the  night,  that  he  is  steering  his  course  directly  to 
the  city  of  his  destination;  and  is  not  an  infallible 
guide  as  necessary  to  conduct  you  to  the  city  of  God 
in  heaven  ? 

It  is  very  strange  that  the  Catholic  Church  must 
apologize  to  the  world  for  simply  declaring  that  she 
speaks  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth. 

Children  of  the  Catholic  Church,  give  thanks-  to 
God  for  having  made  you  members  of  that  Com 
munion  in  which  you  are  preserved  from  all  errors 
in  faith,  and  from  all  illusion  in  the  practice  of  vir 
tue.  You  are  happily  strangers  to  those  interior 
conflicts,  to  those  perplexing  doubts,  and  to  that 
frightful  uncertainty  which  distract  the  souls  of 
those  whose  private  judgment  is  their  only  guide. 
You  are  not,  like  others,  drifting  helplessly  ovei 
the  ocean  of  uncertainty,  and  "carried  about  by 
every  wind  of  doctrine."  You  are  not  as  "  blind 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  93 

men  led  by  blind  guides."  You  are  not  like  those 
who  are  in  the  midst  ^of  a  spiritual  desert  inter 
sected  by  various  by-paths,  not  knowing  which  to 
pursue ;  but  you  are  on  that  high  road  spoken  of 
by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  which  is  so  "  straight  a  way, 
that  fools  shall  not  err  therein." l  You  are  a  part 
of  that  universal  Communion  which  has  no  "  High 
church"  and  "Low  church;"  no  "New  School" 
and  "  Old  School,"  for  you  all  belong  to  that  School 
which  is  "  ever  ancient  and  ever  new."  You  enjoy 
that  profound  peace  and  tranquillity  which  springs 
*Yom  the  conscious  possession  of  the  whole  truth. 
Well  may  you  exclaim :  "  Behold  how  good  and 
how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity."2 

Give  thanks,  moreover,  to  God  that  you  belong 
to  a  Church  which  has  also  a  keen  sense  to  detect 
and  expose  those  moral  shams,  those  pious  frauds, 
those  socialistic  schemes  which  are  so  often  under 
taken  in  this  country  ostensibly  in  the  name  of  re 
ligion  and  morality,  but  which,  in  reality,  are  sub 
versive  of  morality  and  order,  which  are  the  offspring 
of  fanaticism,  and  serve  as  a  mask  to  hide  the  most 
debasing  passions.  Neither  Mormons  nor  Millerites, 
nor  the  advocates  of  free  love  or  of  women's  rights, 
so  called,  find  any  recruits  in  the  Catholic  Church. 
She  will  never  suffer  her  children  to  be  ensnared 
by  these  impostures,  how  specious  soever  they 
may  be. 

1  Isaiah  xxxv.  8.  2  Ps.  cxxxii. 


94  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  pages 
it  follows  that  the  Catholic  Church  cannot  be  re 
formed.  I  do  not  mean,  of  course,  that  the  Pastora 
of  the  Church  are  personally  impeccable,  or  not  sub 
ject  to  sin.  Every  teacher  in  the  Church,  from  the 
Pope  down  to  the  humblest  Priest,  is  liable  at  any 
moment,  like  any  of  the  faithful,  to  fall  from  grace,  and 
to  stand  in  need  of  moral  reformation.  We  all  carry 
"  this  treasure  (of  innocence)  in  earthen  vessels." 

My  meaning  is,  that  the  Church  is  not  susceptible 
of  being  reformed  in  her  doctrines.  The  Church  is 
the  work  of  an  Incarnate  God.  Like  all  God's 
works,  it  is  perfect.  It  is,  therefore,  incapable  of 
reform.  Is  it  not  the  height  of  presumption  for 
men  to  attempt  to  improve  upon  the  work  of 
God?  Is  it  not  ridiculous  for  the  Luthers,  the 
Calviiis,  the  Knoxes,  and  the  Hearies,  and  a  thou 
sand  lesser  lights,  to  be  offering  their  amendments 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  as  if  it  were  a 
human  Institution  ? 

Our  Lord  Himself  has  never  ceased  to  rule  per 
sonally  over  His  Church.  It  is  time  enough  for  lit 
tle  men  to  take  charge  of  the  Ship  when  the  gieat 
Captain  abandons  the  helm. 

A  Protestant  gentleman  of  very  liberal  educa 
tion  remarked  to  me,  before  the  opening  of  the  late 
Ecumenical  Council :  "  I  am  assured,  sir,  by  a  friend, 
in  confidence,  that,  at  a  secret  Conclave  of  Bishops 
recently  held  in  Home,  it  was  resolved  that  the 
Dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  would  be  re- 


INFALLIBLE  AUTHORITY.  95 

considered  and  abolished  at  the  approaching  Gen 
eral  Council ;  in  fact,  that  the  definition  was  a  mis 
take,  and  that  the  blunder  of  18.54  would  be  repaired 
in  1869."  I  told  him,  of  course,  that  no  such  ques 
tion  could  be  entertained  in  the  Council ;  that  the 
doctrinal  decrees  of  the  Church  were  irrevocable, 
and  that  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
was  defined  once  and  forever. 

If  only  one  instance  could  be  given  in  which  the 
Church  ceased  to  teach  a  doctrine  of  faith  which  had 
been  previously  held,  that  single  instance  would  be 
the  death-blow  of  her  claim  to  infallibility.  But  it 
is  a  marvelous  fact  worthy  of  record,  that  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Church,  from  the  nineteenth 
century  to  the  first,  no  solitary  example  can  be  ad 
duced  to  show  that  any  Pope  or  General  Council 
ever  revoked  a  decree  of  faith  or  morals  enacted  by 
any  preceding  Pontiff  or  Council.  Her  record  in 
the  past  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  warrant  that  she  will 
tolerate  no  doctrinal  variations  in  the  future. 

If,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Church  has  authority  from 
God  to  teach,  and  if  she  teaches  nothing  but  the 
truth,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to  hear 
her  voice  and  obey  her  commands?  She  is  the 
organ  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  She  is  the  Representa 
tive  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  said  to  her  :  "  He  that 
heareth  you,  heareth  Me;  he  that  despiseth  you, 
despiseth  Me."  She  is  the  Mistress  of  truth.  It  is 
the  property  of  the  human  mind  to  embrace  truth 
wherever  it  finds  it.  It  would,  therefore,  be  not 


96  THE  FAITH  OP   OUR  FATHERS. 

only  an  act  of  irreverence,  but  of  sheer  folly,  to  dis 
obey  the  voice  of  this  ever-truthful  Mother.  ^ 

If  a  citizen  is  bound  to  obey  the  laws  of  his  coun 
try,  though  these  laws  may  not  in  all  respects  be 
conformable  to  strict  justice;  if  a  child  is  bound  bj 
natural  and  divine  law  to  obey  his  mother,  though 
she  may  sometimes  err  in  her  judgments,  how  much 
more  strictly  are  not  we  obliged  to  be  docile  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Catholic  Church,  our  Mother,  whose 
admonitions  are  always  just^ whose  precepts  are  im 
mutable  ! 

"  For  twenty  years/'  observed  a  recently  converted 
Minister  of  the  Protestant  Church,  "  I  fought  and 
struggled  against  the  Church  with  all  the  energy 
of  my  will.  But  when  I  became  a  Catholic,  all  my 
doubts  ended,  my  inquiries  ceased.  I  became  as  a 
little  child,  and  rushed  like  a  lisping  babe  into  the 
arms  of  my  mother."  By  Baptism,  Christians  become 
children  of  the  Church,  no  matter  who  pours  upon 
them  the  regenerating  waters.  If  she  is  our  Mother, 
where  is  our  love  and  obedience  ?  When  the  infant 
seeks  nourishment  at  its  mother's  breast,  it  does  not 
analyze  its  food.  When  it  receives  instructions  from 
its  mother's  lips,  it  never  doubts,  but  instinctively 
believes.  When  the  mother  stretches  forth  her 
hand,  the  child  follows  unhesitatingly.  The  Chris 
tian  should  have  for  his  spiritual  Mother  all  the 
simplicity,  all  the  credulity,  I  might  say,  of  a  child; 
guided  by  the  instincts  of  faith.  "  Unless  ye  become/1 
says  our  Lord,  "  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 


THE  CHURCH   AND  THE   BIBLE.  97 

into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."1  "As  new-born 
babes,  desire  the  rational  milk  without  guile;  that 
thereby  you  may  grow  unto  salvation."2  In  her 
nourishment  there  is  no  poison ;  in  her  doctrines 
there  is  no  guile. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   BIBLE. 

THE  Church,  as  we  have  just  seen,  is  the  only 
divinely-constituted  teacher  of  Revelation. 

Now,  the  Scripture  is  the  great  Depository  of 
the  Word  of  God.  Therefore,  the  Church  is  the 
divinely  appointed  Custodian  and  Interpreter  of 
the  Bible.  For,  her  office  of  infallible  Guide  were 
superfluous,  if  each  individual  could  interpret  the 
Bible  for  himself. 

That  God  never  intended  the  Bible  to  be  the 
Christian's  rule  of  faith,  independently  of  the  living 
authority  of  the  Church,  will  be  the  subject  of  this 
chapter. 

No  nation  ever  had  a  greater  veneration  for  the 
Bible  than  the  Jewish  people.  The  Holy  Scripture 
was  their  pride  and  their  glory.  It  was  their 
national  song  in  time  of  peace  ;  it  was  their  medita 
tion  and  solace  in  time  of  tribulation  and  exile. 
Aud  yet  the  Jews  never  dreamed  of  settling  their 

1  Matt,  xviii.  3.  I.  Pet.  ii.  2. 

9  G 


98  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

religious  controversies  by  a  private  appeal  to  the 
Word  of  God. 

"Whenever  any  religious  dispute  arose  among  the 
people,  it  was  decided  by  the  High  Priest  and  the 
Sanhedrim,  which  was  a  council  consisting  of  seven 
ty-two  civil  and  ecclesiastical  Judges.  The  sentence 
of  the  High  Priest  and  of  his  associate  Judges  was 
to  be  obeyed  under  penalty  of  death.  "  If  thou  per 
ceive,"  says  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  "  that  there 
be  among  you  a  hard  and  doubtful  matter  in  judg 
ment,  .  .  .  thou  shalt  come  to  the  priests  of  the  Le- 
vitical  race,  and  to  the  Judge,  .  .  .  and  they  shall 
show  thee  the  truth  of  the  judgment.  .  .  .  And  thou 
shalt  follow  their  sentence ;  neither  shalt  thou  decline 
to  the  right  hand,  nor  to  the  left.  .  .  .  But  he  that 
will  .  .  .  refuse  to  obey  the  commandment  of  the 
priest,  .  .  .  that  man  shall  die,  and  thou  shalt  take 
away  the  evil  from  Israel." 1 

From  this  clear  sentence,  you  perceive  that  God 
does  not  refer  the  Jews,  for  the  settlement  of  their 
controversies,  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  but  to  the 
living  authority  of  the  Ecclesiastical  tribunal  which 
He  had  expressly  established  for  that  purpose. 

Hence,  the  priests  were  required  to  be  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  Sacred  Scripture,  because  they 
were  the  depositaries  of  God's  law,  and  were  its  ex 
pounders  to  the  people.  "  The  lips  of  the  priest 
shall  keep  knowledge,  and  they  (the  people)  shall 
seek  the  law  at  his  mouth,  because  he  is  the  angel 

(or  messenger)  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts." a 

1  Deut.  xvii.  8.  et  seq.  2  Mai.  ii.  7. 


THE   CHUKCH   AND   THE   BIBLE.  99 

And,  in  fact,  very  few  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
except  the  priests,  were  in  possession  of  the  divine 
Books.  The  holy  manuscript  was  rare  and  precious. 
And  what  provision  did  God  make  that  all  the  peo 
ple  might  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  Scrip 
tures?  Did  He  command  the  Sacred  Volume  to  be 
multiplied  ?  No ;  but  He  ordered  the  priests  and 
Levites  to  be  distributed  through  the  different  tribes, 
that  they  might  always  be  at  hand  to  instruct  the 
people  in  the  knowledge  of  the  law.  The  Jews  were 
even  forbidden  to  read  certain  portions  of  the  Scrip 
ture  till  they  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty  years. 

Does  our  Saviour  reverse  this  state  of  things  when 
He  comes  on  earth  ?  Does  He  tell  the  Jews  to  be 
their  own  guides  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures? 
By  no  means ;  but  He  commands  them  to  obey  their 
constituted  teachers,  no  matter  how  disedifying 
might  be  their  private  lives.  "  Then  said  Jesus  to 
the  multitudes  and  to  His  disciples:  The  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  sit  upon  the  chair  of  Moses.  All 
things  therefore ,  whatsoever  they  shall  say  to  you, 
observe  and  do."  * 

It  is  true,  our  Lord  said  on  one  occasion  :  "  Search 
the  Scriptures,  for  you  think  in  them  to  have 
life  everlasting,  and  the  same  are  they  that  give 
testimony  to  Me."2  This  passage  is  triumphantly 
quoted  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  private  interpre 
tation.  But  it  proves  nothing  of  the  kind.  Many 
learned  commentators,  ancient  and  modern,  express 

^-Matt.  xxiii.  2,  3.  3  John  v.  33. 


100  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

the  verb  in  the  indicative  mood :  "  Ye  search  the 
Scriptures."  At  all  events,  our  Saviour  speaks  here 
only  of  the  Old  Testament,  because  the  New  Testa 
ment  was  not  yet  written.  He  addresses  not  the 
multitude,  but  the  Pharisees,  who  were  the  teacheis 
of  the  law,  and  reproaches  them  for  not  admitting 
His  divinity.  *c  You  have,"  He  says,  "  the  Scrip 
tures  in  your  hands ;  why  then  do  you  not  recognize 
me  as  the  Messiah,  since  they  give  testimony  tha.t 
I  am  the  Son  of  God?"  He  refers  them  to  the 
Scriptures  for  a  proof  of  His  Divinity,  not  as  to  a 
source  from  which  they  were  to  derive  all  knowl 
edge  ill  regard  to  the  truths  of  revelation. 

Besides,  He  did  not  rest  the  proof  of  His  Divinity 
upon  the  sole  testimony  of  Scripture.  For  He 
showed  it 

1.  By  the  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  (v.  33), 
who  had  said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God ;  behold 
Him  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world."     See 
also  John  i.  34. 

2.  By  the  miracles  which  He  wrought  (v.  36) ; 

3.  By  the  testimony  of  the  Father  (v.  37),  when 
He  said :  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  arn 
well  pleased,  hear  ye  Him."     Matt.  iii.  16;  Luke 
ix.  35. 

4.  By  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament ;  as  if 
He  were  to  say,  "If  you  are  unwilling  to  receive 
these  three  proofs,  though  they  are  most  cogent,  at 
least  you  cannot  reject  the  testimony  of  the  Scrip 
tures,  of  which  you  boast  so  much." 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE.  101 

Finally,  in  this  very  passage  our  Lord  is  explain 
ing  the  sense  of  Holy  Writ ;  therefore,  its  true  mean 
ing  is  not  left  to  the  private  interpretation  of  every 
chance  reader.  It  is,  therefore,  a  grave  perversion  of 
the  sacred  Text,  to  adduce  these  words  in  vindica 
tion  of  the  private  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures. 

But  when  our  Redeemer  abolished  the  Old  Law, 
and  established  His  Church,  did  He  intend  that  His 
Gospel  should  be  disseminated  by  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible,  or  by  the  living  voice  of  His  disciples  ? 
This  is  a  vital  question.  I  answer  most  emphatically, 
that  it  was  by  preaching  alone  that  He  intended  to 
convert  the  nations,  and  by  preaching  alone  they 
were  converted.  No  nation  has  ever  yet  been  con 
verted  by  the  agency  of  Bible  Associations. 

Jesus  Himself  never  wrote  a  line  of  Scripture. 
He  never  once  commanded  His  Apostles  to  write  a 
word,*  or  even  to  circulate  the  Scriptures  already 
existing.  When  He  sends  them  on  their  Apostolic 
errand,  He  says :  "  Go  teach  all  nations." l  "  Preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 2  "  He  that  heareth 
you,  heareth  Me." s  And  we  find  the  Apostles  act 
ing  in  strict  accordance  with  these  instructions. 

Of  the  twelve  Apostles,  the  seventy-two  disciples, 
and  early  followers  of  our  Lord,  only  eight  have 
left  us  any  of  their  sacred  writings.  And  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles  were  addressed  to  particular 
persons  or  particular  churches.  They  were  written 
on  the  occasion  of  some  emergency,  just  as  Bishops 

1Matt.  xxviii.  19.         2Mark  xvi.  15.         3  Luke  x.  16. 
*NOTE:  Except  when  He  directed  St.  John  to  write  the 
Apocalypse,  i.  11. 
9* 


102  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

issue  Pastoral  letters,  to  correct  abuses  whicn  may 
spring  up  in  the  Church,  or  to  lay  down  some  rules 
of  conduct  for  the  faithful.  The  Apostles  are 
never  reported  to  have  circulated  a  single  vol 
ume  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  but  "  they  going  forth, 
preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  co-operating  with 
them."1 

Thus  we  see  that  in  the  Old  and  the  New  Dispen 
sation,  the  people  were  to  be  guided  by  a  living 
authority,  and  not  by  their  private  interpretation 
of  the  Scriptures. 

Indeed,  until  the  religious  Revolution  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  it  was  a  thing  unheard  of  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  that  people  should  be 
governed  by  the  dead  letter  of  the  law  either  in 
civil  or  ecclesiastical  affairs.  How  are  your  civil 
affairs  regulated  in  this  State,  for  instance?  Cer 
tainly  not  in  accordance  with  your  personal  inter 
pretation  of  the  laws  of  Virginia,  but  in  accordance 
with  decisions  which  are  rendered  by  the  constituted 
judges  of  the  State. 

Now  what  the  civil  code  is  to  the  citizen,  the 
Scripture  is  to  the  Christian.  The  Word  of  God,  as 
well  as  the  civil  law,  must  have  an  interpreter,  by 
whose  decision  we  are  obliged  to  abide. 

We  often  hear  the  shibboleth :  "  The  Bible,  and 
the  Bible  only  must  be  your  guide."  Why  then 
do  you  go  to  the  useless  expense  of  building  fine 
churches,  and  Sabbath-schools?  What  is  the  use 

1  Mark  xvi.  20. 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   BIBLE.  10S 

of  your  preaching  sermons  and  catechizing  the 
young,  if  the  Bible  at  home  is  a  sufficient  guide  for 
your  people  ?  The  fact  is,  you  Reverend  gentlemen 
contradict  in  practice  what  you  so  vehemently  ad 
vance  in  theory.  Do  not  tell  me  that  the  Bible  is 
all-sufficient ;  or,  if  you  believe  it  is  self-sufficient, 
cease  your  instructions.  Stand  not  between  the 
people  and  the  Scriptures. 

I  will  address  myself  now  in  a  friendly  spirit  to 
a  non-Catholic,  and  will  proceed  to  show  him  that 
he  cannot  consistently  accept  the  silent  Book  of 
Scripture  as  his  sufficient  guide. 

A  copy  of  the  sacred  volume  is  handed  to  you  by 
your  minister,  who  says :  "  Take  this  book  ;  you  will 
find  it  all-sufficient  for  your  salvation."  But  here  8 
serious  difficulty  awaits  you  at  the  very  threshold  of 
your  investigations.  What  assurance  have  you  thai 
the  book  he  hands  you  is  the  inspired  Word  of  God ; 
for  every  part  of  the  Bible  is  far  from  possessing  in 
trinsic  evidences  of  inspiration  ?  It  may,  for  aught 
you  know,  contain  more  than  the  Word  of  God,  or 
it  may  not  contain  all  the  Word  of  God.  We  must 
not  suppose  that  the  Bible  was  always,  as  it  is  now, 
a  compact  book,  bound  in  a  neat  form.  It  was  for 
several  centuries  in  scattered  fragments,  spread  over 
different  parts  of  Christendom.  Meanwhile,  many 
spurious  books,  under  the  name  of  Scripture,  were 
circulated  among  the  faithful.  There  was,  for  in 
stance,  the  spurious  Gospel  of  St.  Peter ;  there  was 
also  the  Gospel  of  St.  James  and  of  St.  Matthias. 


104  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHEES. 

The  Catholic  Church,  in  the  plenitude  of  her  au 
thority,  in  the  third  Council  of  Carthage,  (A.  D. 
397,)  separated  the  chaff  from  the  wheat,  and  de 
clared  what  Books  were  Canonical,  and  what  were 
apocryphal.  Even  to  this  day,  the  Christian  sects 
do  not  agree  among  themselves  as  to  what  booka 
are  to  be  accepted  as  genuine.  Some  Christians 
of  continental  Europe  do  not  recognize  the  Gospels 
of  St.  Mark  and  St.  Luke,  because  these  Evangelists 
were  not  among  the  Apostles.  Luther  used  to  call 
the  Epistle  of  St.  James  a  letter  of  straw. 

But  even  when  you  are  assured  that  the  Bible 
contains  the  Word  of  God,  and  nothing  but  the 
Word  of  God,  how  do  you  know  that  the  transla 
tion  is  faithful?  The  Books  of  Scripture  were 
originally  written  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  and  you 
have  only  the  translation.  Before  you  are  certain 
that  the  translation  is  faithful,  you  must  study  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  and  then  compare  the 
translation  with  the  original.  How  few  are  capa 
ble  of  this  gigantic  undertaking  ! 

Indeed,  when  you  accept'  the  Bible  as  the  Word 
of  God,  you  are  obliged  to  receive  it  on  the  author 
ity  of  the  Catholic  Church,  who  was  the  sole  Guar 
dian  of  the  Scriptures  for  fifteen  hundred  years. 

But  after  having  ascertained  to  your  satisfaction 
that  the  translation  is  faithful,  still  the  Scriptures 
can  never  serve  as  a  complete  Rule  of  Faith,  and  a 
complete  guide  to  heaven,  independently  of  an  au 
thorized,  living  interpreter. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE.  105 

A  competent  guide,  such  as  our  Lord  intended  for 
us,  must  have  three  characteristics.  It  must  be 
within  the  reach  of  every  one ;  it  must  be  clear  and 
intelligible;  it  must  be  ^able  to  satisfy  us  on  all 
questions  relating  to  faith  and  morals. 

1st.  A  complete  guide  of  salvation  must  be  with 
in  the  reach  of  every  inquirer  after  truth ;  for,  God 
"  wishes  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ; " 1  and  therefore  He  must 
have  placed  within  the  reach  of  every  one  the  means 
of  arriving  at  the  truth.  Now,  it  is  clear  that  the 
Scriptures  could  not  at  any  period  have  been  ac 
cessible  to  every  one. 

They  could  not  have  been  accessible  to  the  primitive 
Christians,  because  they  were  not  all  written  for  a  long 
time  after  the  establishment  of  Christianity.  The 
Christian  religion  was  founded  in  the  year  33.  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel,  the  first  part  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  ever  written,  did  not  appear  till  eight  years 
after.  The  Church  was  established  about  twenty 
years,  when  St.  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel.  And  St. 
John's  Gospel  did  not  come  to  light  till  towards  the 
end  of  the  first  century.  For  many  years  after  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles  were  written,  the  knowledge  of 
them  was  confined  to  the  churches  to  which  they  were 
addressed.  It  was  not  till  the  close  of  the  fourth 
century  that  the  Church  framed  her  Canon  of 
Scripture,  and  declared  the  Bible,  as  we  now  possess 
it,  to  be  the  genuine  Word  of  God.  And  this  was 

1 1.  Tim.  ii.  4. 


106  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

the  golden  age  of  Christianity !  The  most  perfect 
Christians  lived  and  died  and  went  to  heaven  be 
fore  the  most  important  parts  of  the  Scriptures 
were  written.  And  what  would  have  become  of 
them  if  the  Bible  alone  had  been  their  guide? 

The  art  of  printing  was  not  invented  till  the 
fifteenth  century,  (1440.)  How  utterly  impossible 
it  was  to  supply  every  one  with  a  copy  of  the  Scrip 
tures  from  the  fourth  to  the  fifteenth  century  I  During 
that  long  period,  Bibles  had  to  be  copied  with  the 
pen.  There  were  but  a  few  hundred  of  them  in  the 
Christian  world,  and  these  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergy  and  the  learned.  "  According  to  the  Prot 
estant  system,  the  art  of  printing  would  have  been 
much  more  necessary  to  the  Apostles  than  the  gift 
of  tongues.  It  was  well  for  Luther  that  he  did  not 
come  into  the  world  until  a  century  after  the  im 
mortal  discovery  of  Guttenberg.  A  hundred  years 
earlier,  his  idea  of  directing  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  men  to  read  the  Bible  would  have  been 
received  with  shouts  of  laughter,  and  would  in 
evitably  have  caused  his  removal  from  the  pulpit 
of  Wittenberg  to  a  hospital  for  the  insane." 1 

And  even  at  ike  present  day,  with  all  the  aid  of 
steam  printing-presses,  with  all  the  Bible  Associa 
tions  extending  through  this  country  and  England; 
and  supported  at  enormous  expense,  it  taxes  all  their 
energies  to  supply  every  missionary  country  with 

1  Martinet,  Keligion  in  Society,  Vol.  II.,  c.  10. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE.  107 

Bibles  printed  in  the  languages  of  the  tribes  and 
peoples  for  whom  they  are  intended. 

But  even  if  the  Bible  were  at  all  times  accessible 
to  every  one,  how  many  millions  exist  in  every  age 
'and  country,  not  excepting  our  own  age  of  boasted 
enlightenment,  who  are  not  accessible  to  the  Bible, 
because  they  are  incapable  of  reading  the  Word  of 
God !  Hence,  the  doctrine  of  private  interpretation 
would  render  many  men's  salvation  not  only  diffi 
cult,  but  impossible. 

2d.  A  competent  religious  guide  must  be  clear 
and  intelligible  to  all,  so  that  every  one  may  fully 
understand  the  true  meaning  of  the  instructions  it 
contains.  Is  the  Bible  a  book  intelligible  to  all? 
Far  from  it ;  it  is  full  of  obscurities  and  difficulties 
not  only  for  the  illiterate,  but  even  for  the  learned. 
St.  Peter  himself  informs  us  that  in  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  there  "  are  certain  things  hard  to  be 
understood,  which  the  unlearned  and  the  unstable 
wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other  Scriptures,  to  their 
own  destruction." l  And  consequently  he  tells  us 
elsewhere  "  that  no  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  made 
by  private  interpretation."  2 

We  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  a  cer 
tain  man  was  riding  in  his  chariot,  reading  the  Book 
rf  Isaiah,  and  being  asked  by  St.  Philip  whether  he 
anderstood  the  meaning  of  the  prophecy,  he  replied  : 
u  How  can  I  understand  unless  some  man  show  me  ?  "  * 

1 II.  Pet.  iii.  16.  *  Ibid.  i.  20.  8  Acts  viii  31. 


108  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

admitting,  by  these  modest  words,  that  he  did  not 
pretend  of  himself  to  interpret  the  Scriptures. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Church,  though  many  of  them 
spent  their  whole  lives  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
are  unanimous  in  pronouncing  the  Bible  a  book 
full  of  knotty  difficulties.  And  yet  we  find  in  our 
days  pedants,  with  a  mere  smattering  of  biblical 
knowledge,  who  see  no  obscurity  at  all  in  the  Word 
of  God,  and  who  presume  to  expound  it  from  Genesis 
to  Revelation.  "  Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear 
to  tread." 

Does  not  the  conduct  of  the  Reformers  conclusively 
show  the  utter  folly  of  interpreting  the  Scriptures 
by  private  judgment?  As  soon  as  they  rejected  th« 
oracle  of  the  Church,  and  set  up  their  own  private 
judgment  as  the  highest  standard  of  authority,  they 
could  hardly  agree  among  themselves  on  the  mean 
ing  of  a  single  important  text.  The  Bible  became 
in  their  hands  a  complete  Babel.  The  sons  of 
Noe  attempted  in  their  pride  to  ascend  to  heaven 
by  building  the  tower  of  Babel;  and  their  scheme 
ended  in  the  confusion  and  multiplication  of  tongues. 
The  children  of  the  Reformation  endeavored  in  their 
conceit  to  lead  men  to  heaven  by  the  private  inter 
pretation  of  the  Bible,  and  their  efforts  led  to  the 
confusion  and  the  multiplication  of  religions.  Let 
me  give  you  one,  example  out  of  a  thousand.  These 
words  of  the  Gospel,  "This  is  My  body,"  were 
understood  only  in  one  sense  before  the  Reforma 
tion.  The  new  lights  of  the  sixteenth  century  gave 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE.  109 

no  fewer  than  eighty  different  meanings  to  these 
four  simple  words  ;  and  since  their  time  the  number 
of  interpretations  has  increased  to  over  a  hundred. 

No  one  will  deny  that  in  our  days  there  exists  a 
vast  multitude  of  sects,  which  are  daily  multiplying. 
No  one  will  deny l  that  this  multiplying  of  creeds  is  a 
crying  scandal,  and  a  great  stumbling-block  in  the 
way  of  the  conversion  of  heathen  nations.  No  one 
can  deny  that  these  divisions  in  the  Christian  family 
are  traceable  to  the  assumption  of  the  right  of  pri 
vate  judgment.  Every  new-fledged  divine,  with  a 
superficial  education,  imagines  that  he  has  received 
a  call  from  heaven  to  inaugurate  a  new  religion,  and 
he  iz  ambitious  of  handing  down  his  fame  to  pos 
terity  by  stamping  his  name  on  a  new  sect.  And 
every  one  of  these  champions  of  modern  creeds 
appeals  to  the  unchanging  Bible  in  support  of  his 
ever-changing  doctrines. 

Thus,  one  body  of  Christians  will  prove  from  the 
Bible  that  there  is  but  one  Person  in  God ;  while 
the  rest  will  prove  from  the  same  source  that  a 
Trinity  of  Persons  is  a  clear  article  of  divine  Revela 
tion.  One  will  prove  from  the  Holy  Book  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  not  God.  Others  will  appeal  to  the  same 
text  to  attest  His  divinity.  One  denomination  will 
assert  on  the  authority  of  Scripture  that  infant 
baptism  is  not  necessary  for  salvation ;  while  others 
will  hold  that  it  is.  Some  Christians,  with  Bible 

1  Except,  perhaps,  Rev.  H.  W.  Beecher,  who  thinks  that 
aod  is  glorified  by  the  variety  of  sects. 
10 


110  THE   FAITH   OF   OTJR   FATHERS. 

in  hand,  will  teach  that  there  are  no  sacraments. 
Others  will  say  that  there  are  only  two.  Some  will 
declare  that  the  inspired  Word  does  not  preach  the 
eternity  of  punishments.  Others  will  say  that  the 
Bible  distinctly  vindicates  that  dogma.  Do  not 
clergymen  appear  every  day  in  the  pulpit,  and  on 
Lhe  authority  of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  point  out 
to  us  with  painful  accuracy  the  year  and  the  day 
on  which  this  world  is  to  come  to  an  end?  And 
when  their  prophecy  fails  of  execution,  they  coolly 
put  off  our  destruction  to  another  time. 

Very  recently,  several  hundred  Mormon  women 
presented  a  petition  to  the  government  at  Washing 
ton,  protesting  against  any  interference  with  their 
abominable  system  of  polygamy;  and  they  insist 
that  their  cherished  system  is  sustained  by  the  Word 
of  God. 

Such  is  the  legitimate  fruit  of  private  interpreta 
tion!  Would  it  not  be  extremely  hazardous  to 
make  a  long  voyage  in  a  ship  where  all  the  officers 
and  crew  are  fiercely  contending  among  themselves 
about  the  manner  of  explaining  the  compass,  and  of 
steering  their  course  ?  How  much  more  dangerous 
is  it  to  trust  to  contending  captains  in  the  journey 
to  heaven  ?  Nothing  short  of  an  infallible  authority 
should  satisfy  you,  when  it  is  a  question  of  steering 
your  course  to  eternity.  On  this  vital  question  there 
shouH  be  no  conflict  of  opinion  among  those  that 
guide  you.  There  should  be  no  conjecture.  But 
there  must  be  always  some  one  at  the  helm  whose 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  BIBLE.  Ill 

voice  gives  assurance,  amid  the  fiercest  storms,  that 
all  is  well. 

3d.  A  rule  of  Faith,  or  a  competent  guide  to 
heaven,  must  be  able  to  instruct  in  all  the  truths 
necessary  for  salvation.  Now  the  Scriptures  alone 
do  not  contain  all  the  truths  which  a  Christian  is 
bound  to  believe,  nor  do  they  explicitly  enjoin  all 
the  duties  which  he  is  obliged  to  practice.  Not  to 
mention  other  examples,  is  not  every  Christian 
obliged  to  sanctify  Sunday,  and  to  abstain  on  that 
day  from  unnecessary  servile  work?  Is  not  the 
observance  of  this  law  among  the  most  prominent 
of  our  sacred  duties  ?  But  you  may  read  the  Bible 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  and  you  will  not  find  a 
single  line  authorizing  the  sanctific'ation  of  Sunday. 
The  Scriptures  enforce  the  religious  observance  of 
Saturday,  a  day  which  we  never  sanctify.  , 

The  Catholic  Church  correctly  teaches  tha,t  our 
Lord  and  His  Apostles  inculcated  certain  important 
duties  of  religion  which  are  not  recorded^  by  the 
inspired  writers.1  For  instance,  most  Christians  pray 
W>  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  practice  which  nowhere  is 
found  in  the  Bible. 

We  must,  therefore,  conclude  that  the  Scriptures 
alone  cannot  be  a  sufficient  guide  and  rule  of  Faith, 
because  they  cannot,  at  any  time,  be  within  the 
reach  of  every  inquirer  ;  because  they  are  not  of 
themselves  clear  and  intelligible  even  in  matters  of 
the  highest  importance,  and  because  they  do  not 
contain  all  the  truths  necessary  for  salvation, 
i  See  John  xxi.  25  ;  II.  Thess.  ii.  14. 


112  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

God  forbid  that  any  of  my  readers  should  be 
tempted  to  conclude,  from  what  I  have  said,  that 
the  Catholic  Church  is  opposed  to  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  or  that  she  is  the  enemy  of  the  Bible. 
The  Catholic  Church  the  enemy  of  the  Bible  I 
Good  God,  what  monstrous  ingratitude,  what  base 
calumny  is  contained  in  that  assertion!  As  well 
might  you  accuse  the  Virgin  Mother  of  trying  to 
crush  the  Infant  Saviour  at  her  breast,  as  to  accuse 
the  Church,  our  Mother,  of  attempting  to  crush  out 
of  existence  the  Word  of  God.  As  well  might  you 
charge  the  patriotic  statesman  with  attempting  to 
destroy  the  constitution  of  his  country,  while  he 
strove  to  protect  it  from  being  mutilated  by  unprin 
cipled  demagogues. 

For  fifteen  centuries,  the  Church  was  the  sole 
guardian  and  depository  of  the  Bible ;  and  if  she 
really  feared  that  sacred  Book,  who  was  to  prevent 
her,  during  that  long  period,  from  tearing  it  in 
shreds  and  scattering  it  to  the  winds  ?  She  could 
have  thrown  it  into  the  sea,  as  the  unnatural  mother 
would  throw  away  her  offspring,  and  who  would 
have  been  the  wiser  for  it  ? 

What  has  become  of  those  millions  of  once  famous 
books  which  were  written  in  past  ages  ?  They  have 
nearly  all  perished.  But  amid  this  wreck  of 
ancient  literature  the  Bible  stands  almost  a  solitary 
monument,  like  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  amid  the 
surrounding  wastes.  That  venerable  Volume  has 
survived  the  wars  and  revolutions  and  the  barbaric 


THE   CHURCH   AND   THE   BIFLE.  113 

invasions  of  fifteen  centuries.  Who  rescued  it  from 
destruction  ?  The  Catholic  Church.  Without  her 
fostering  care,  the  New  Testament  would  probably 
be  as  little  known  to-day  as  "  the  Book  of  the  Days 
of  the  Kings  of  Israel."1 

Little  do  we  imagine,  in  our  age  of  steam  printing, 
how  much  labor  it  cost  the  Church  to  preserve  and 
perpetuate  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Learned  monks, 
who  are  now  abused  in 'their  graves  by  thoughtless 
men,  were  constantly  employed  in  copying  with  the 
pen  the  Holy  Bible.  When  one  monk  died  at  his 
post,  another  took  his  place,  watching  like  a  faithful 
sentinel  over  the  treasure  of  God's  Word. 

Let  me  give  you  a  few  plain  facts  to  show  the 
pains  which  the  Church  has  taken  to  perpetuate  the 
Scriptures. 

The  Canon  of  the  Bible,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
framed  in  the  fourth  century.  In  that  same  century, 
Pope  Damasus  commanded  a  new  and  complete  trans 
lation  of  the  Scriptures  to  be  made  into  the  Latin 
language,  which  was  then  the  living  tongue  not  only 
of  Rome  and  Italy,  but  of  the  civilized  world. 

If  the  Popes  were  afraid  that  the  Bible  should 
see  the  light,  this  was  a  singular  way  of  manifesting 
their  fear. 

The  task  of  preparing  a  new  edition  of  the  Scrip 
tures  was  assigned  to  St.  Jerome,  the  most  learned 
Hebrew  scholar  of  his  time.  This  new  translation 
was  disseminated  throughout  Christendom,  and  on 

1  III.  Kings  xiv,  19. 
10*  H 


114  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

that  account  was  called  the  Vulgate,  or  populai 
edition. 

In  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  the  modern 
languages  of  Europe  began  to  spring  up  like  so 
many  shoots  from  the  parent  Latin  stock.  The 
Scriptures  soon  also  found  their  way  into  these 
languages.  The  venerable  Bede,  who  lived  in 
England  in  the  eighth  century,  and  whose  name  is 
profoundly  reverenced  in  that  country,  translated 
the  Sacred  Scriptures  into  Saxon,  which  was  then 
the  language  of  England.  He  died  while  dictating 
the  last  verses  of  St.  John's  Gospel. 

Thomas  Arundel,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in 
a  funeral  discourse  on  Queen  Anne,  consort  of 
Richard  II.,  pronounced  in  1394,  praises  her  for 
her  diligence  in  reading  the  four  Gospels.  The 
Head  of  the  Church  in  England  could  not  condemn 
in  others  what  he  commended  in  the  queen. 

Sir  Thomas  More  affirms  that  before  the  days  of 
Wycliffe  there  was  an  English  version  of  the  Scrip 
tures,  "  by  good  and  godly  people  with  devotion 
and  soberness  well  and  reverently  red."  ' 

If  partial  restrictions  began  to  be  placed  on  the 
circulation  of  the  Bible  in  England  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  these  restrictions  were  occasioned  by  the 
conduct  of  Wycliffe  and  his  followers,  who  not  only 
issued  a  new  translation,  on  which  they  engrafted 

1  Dialog.  3,  14. 


THE   CHURCH    AND  THE   BIBLE.  115 

their  novelties  of  doctrine,  but  also  sought  to  ex 
plain  the  sacred  text  in  a  sense  foreign  to  the 
received  interpretation  of  tradition. 

While  laboring  to  diffuse  the  Word  of  God,  it  ia 
the  duty  as  well  as  the  right  of  the  Church,  as  the 
guardian  of  faith,  to  see  that  the  faithful  are  not 
misled  by  unsound  editions. 

Printing  was  invented  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
almost  a  hundred  years  later  came  the  Reformation. 
It  is  often  triumphantly  said,  and  I  suppose  there 
are  some  who,  even  at  the  present  day,  are  ignorant 
enough  to  believe  the  assertion,  that  the  first  edition 
of  the  Bible  ever  published  after  the  invention  of 
printing,  was  the  edition  of  Martin  Luther.  The 
fact  is,  that  before  Luther  put  his  pen  to  paper,  no 
fewer  than  fifty-six  editions  of  the  Scriptures  had 
appeared  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  not  to  speak 
of  those  printed  in  Great  Britain.  Of  those  editions 
twenty-one  were  published  in  German ;  one  in 
Spanish ;  four  in  French ;  twenty-one  in  Italian  , 
five  in  Flemish,  and  four  in  Bohemian. 

Coming  down  to  our  own  times,  if  von  open  an 
English  Catholic  Bible,  you  will  find  in  the  preface 
a  letter  of  Pope  Pius  VI.,  in  which  he  strongly 
recommends  the  pious  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures.  A  Pope's  letter  is  the  most  weighty  author 
ity  in  the  Church.  You  will  also  find  in  Haydock's 
Bible  the  letters  of  the  Bishops  of  the  United  States, 
in  which  they  express  the  hope  that  this  splendid 


116  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

edition  would  have  a  wide  circulation  among  their 
flocks. 

These  facts  ought,  I  think,  to  convince  every  can 
did  mind  that  the  Church,  far  from  being  opposed 
to  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  does  all  she  can  to 
encourage  their  perusal. 

A  gentleman  of  North  Carolina  lately  informed 
me  that  the  first  time  he  entered  a  Catholic  book 
store,  he  was  surprised  at  witnessing  on  the  shelves 
an  imposing  array  of  Bibles  for  sale.  Up  to  that 
moment  he  had  believed  the  unfounded  charge  that 
Catholics  were  forbidden  to  read  the  Scriptures. 
He  has  since  embraced  the  Catholic  faith. 

And  perhaps  I  may  be  permitted  here  to  record 
my  personal  experiences  during  a  long  course  of 
study.  I  speak  of  myself,  not  because  my  case  is 
exceptional,  but,  on  the  contrary,  because  my  exam 
ple  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  system  pursued  toward 
ecclesiastical  students  in  all  colleges  throughout  the 
Catholic  world,  in  reference  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

In  our  course  of  Humanities,  we  listened  every 
day  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible.  When  we  were 
advanced  to  the  higher  branches  of  Philosophy  and 
Theology,  the  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  formed 
an  important  part  of  our  education.  We  read 
besides,  every  day,  a  chapter  of  the  New  Testament, 
not  standing  or  sitting,  but  on  our  knees,  and  then 
reverently  kissed  the  inspired  page.  We  listened, 
each  day,  to  selections  from  the  Bible,  at  our  meals, 


PRIMACY   OF  PETER.  117 

and  we  always  carried  about  us  a  copy  of  the  New 
Testament. 

So  familiar,  indeed,  were  the  students  with  the 
sacred  Volume,  that  many  of  them,  on  listening  to 
a  few  verses,  could  tell  from  what  portion  of  the 
Scriptures  you  were  reading.  The  only  dread  we 
were  taught  to  have  of  the  Scriptures,  was  that  of 
reading  them  without  fear  and  reverence. 

And  after  his  ordination,  every  priest  is  obliged  in 
conscience  to  devote  upwards  of  an  hour  each  day 
to  the  perusal  of  the  Word  of  God.  I  am  not  aware 
that  clergymen  of  other  denominations  are  bound 
by  the  same  duty. 

What  is  good  for  the  clergy  must  be  good  also  for 
the  laity.  Be  assured  that  if  you  become  a  Catholic, 
you  will  never  be  forbidden  to  read  the  Bible.  It  ia 
our  earnest  wish  that  every  word  of  the  Gospel  may 
be  imprinted  on  your  memory  and  on  your  heart. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   PRIMACY    OF   PETER. 

THE  Catholic  Church  also  teaches  that  our  Lord 
conferred  on  St.  Peter  the  first  place  of  honor 
and  jurisdiction   in  the  government  of  His  whole 


118  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Church,  and  that  the  same  spiritual  supremacy  has 
always  resided  in  the  Popes,  or  Bishops  of  Rome, 
as  being  the  successors  of  St.  Peter.  Consequently, 
to  be  true  followers  of  Christ,  all  Christians,  both 
among  the  clergy  and  the  laity,  must  be  in  commu 
nion  with  the  See  of  Rome,  where  Peter  rules  in  the 
person  of  his  successor. 

Before  coming  to  any  direct  proofs  on  this  subject, 
I  may  state  that  in  the  Old  Law,  the  High  Priest, 
appointed  by  Almighty  God,  filled  an  office  analo 
gous  to  that  of  Pope  in  the  New  Law.  In  the 
Jewish  Church,  there  were  priests  and  levites 
ordained  to  minister  at  the  altar ;  and  there  was 
also  a  supreme  ecclesiastical  tribunal,  with  the 
High  Priest  at  its  head.  All  matters  of  religious 
controversy  were  referred  to  this  tribunal ;  and  in 
the  last  resort,  to  the  High  Priest,  whose  decision 
was  enforced  under  pain  of  death !  "  If  there  be  a 
hard  matter  in  judgment  between  blood  and  blood, 
cause  and  cause,  leprosy  and  leprosy,  .  .  .  thou  shalt 
come  to  the  priests  of  the  levitical  race,  and  to  the 
judge,  .  .  .  and  they  shall  show  thee  true  judg 
ment.  And  thou  sbalt  do  whatever  they  say  who 
preside  in  the  place  which  the  Lord  shall  choose, 
and  thou  shalt  follow  their  sentence.  And  thou 
shalt  not  decline  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left. 
.  .  .  But  he  that  .  .  .  will  refuse  to  obey  the  com 
mandment  of  the  priest,  who  ministereth  at  the  time, 
.  .  .  that  man  shall  die,  and  thou  shalt  take  away 
the  evil  from  Israel."  1 

1  Deut.  xvii. 


PEIMACY  OF  PETER.  119 

From  this  passage,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  Hebrew 
Church  the  High  Priest  had  the  highest  jurisdiction 
in  religious  matters.  By  this  means,  unity  of  faith 
and  worship  was  preserved  among  the  people  of  God. 

Now  the  Jewish  synagogue,  as  St.  Paul  testifies, 
was  the  type  and  figure  of  the  Christian  Church ; 
for,  "all  things  happened  to  them  (the  Jews)  in 
figure."1  We  must,  therefore,  find  in  the  Church 
of  Christ  a  spiritual  judge,  exercising  the  same 
supreme  authority  as  the  High  Priest  wielded  in  the 
Old  Law.  For,  if  a  supreme  Pontiff  was  necessary, 
in  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  to  maintain  purity  and 
uniformity  of  worship,  the  same  dignitary  is  equally 
necessary  now  to  preserve  unity  of  faith. 

Every  well-regulated  civil  government  has  an  ac 
knowledged  Head.  The  President  is  the  Head  of 
the  United  States  Government.  Queen  Victoria  is 
the  Ruler  of  Great  Britain.  The  Sultan  sways  the 
Turkish  Empire.  If  these  nations  had  no  author 
ized  leader  to  govern  them,  they  would  be  reduced 
to  the  condition  of  a  mere  mob,  and  anarchy  and 
confusion  and  civil  war  would  inevitably  follow,  as 
recently  happened  to  France  after  the  fall  of  Na 
poleon  III. 

Even  in  every  well-ordered  family,  domestic  peace 
requires  that  some  one  preside. 

Now,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  a  visible  society, 
that  is,  a  society  composed  of  human  beings.  She 
has,  it  is  true,  a  spiritual  end  in  view ;  but  having  to 

1 1.  Cor.  x.  11 


120  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

deaJ  with  men,  she  must  have  a  government  as  well 
as  every  other  organized  society.  This  government, 
at  least  in  its  essential  elements,  our  Lord  must  have 
established  for  His  Church.  For,  was  He  not  as 
wise  as  human  legislators  ?  And  shall  we  suppose 
that,  of  all  lawgivers,  the  Wisdom  Incarnate  alone 
left  His  Kingdom  on  earth  to  be  governed  without 
a  Head? 

But  some  one  will  tell  me :  "  We  do  not  deny 
that  the  Church  has  a  Head.  God  Himself  is  its 
Ruler."  This  is  evading  the  real  question.  Is 
not  God  the  Ruler  of  all  governments?  "By  Me," 
He  says,  "kings  reign,  and  lawgivers  decree  just 
things." 1  He  is  the  recognized  Head  of  our  Re 
public,  and  of  every  Christian  family  in  the  land ; 
but,  nevertheless,  there  is  always  presiding  over 
the  country  a  visible  chief,  who  represents  God  on 
earth. 

In  like  manner  the  Church,  besid&s  an  invisible 
Head  in  heaven,  must  have  a  visible  Head  on  earth. 
The  body  and  members  of  the  Church  are  visible ; 
why  not  also  the  Head?  The  Church  without  a 
supreme  Ruler,  would  be  like  an  army  without  a  gen 
eral  ;  a  navy  without  an  admiral ;  a  sheepfold  without 
a  shepherd  ;  or  like  a  human  body  without  a  head. 

The  Christian  communities  separated  from  the 
Catholic  Church,  deny  that  Peter  received  any  au 
thority  over  the  other  Apostles,  and  hence  they  reject 
the  supremacy  of  the  Pope. 

1  Prov.  yiii.  15. 


PR/MACY   OF  PETER.  12  j 

The  absence  from  the  Protestant  communions  of 
a  divinely-appointed,  visible  head,  is  to  them  an  end 
less  source  of  weakness  and  dissensions.  It  is  an  in 
separable  barrier  against  any  hope  of  a  permanent 
reunion  among  themselves,  because  they  are  left 
without  a  common  rallying  centre  or  basis  of  union, 
and  are  placed  in  an  unhappy  state  of  schism. 

The  existence,  on  the  contrary,  of  a  supreme  judge 
of  controversy  in  the  Catholic  Church,  is  the  secret 
of  her  admirable  unity.  This  is  the  key -stone  that 
binds  together  and  strengthens  the  imperishable  arch 
of  faith. 

From  the  very  fact,  then,  of  the  existence  of  a 
supreme  head  in  the  Jewish  Church ;  from  the  fact 
that  a  head  is  always  necessary  for  civil  govern^ 
ments,  for  families,  and  corporations ;  from  the  fact, 
especially,  that  a  visible  Head  is  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  unity  in  the  Church,  while  the 
absence  of  a  Plead  necessarily  leads  to  anarchy,  we 
are  forced  to  conclude,  even  though  positive  evi 
dence  were  wanting,  that,  in  the  establishment  of 
His  Church,  it  must  have  entered  into  the  mind  of 
the  divine  Lawgiver  to  place  over  it  a  Primate  in 
vested  with  superior  judicial  powers. 

But  have  we  any  positive  proof  that  Christ  did 
appoint  a  supreme  Ruler  over  His  Church?  To 
those,  indeed,  who  read  the  Scriptures  with  the  sin 
gle  eye  of  pure  intention,  the  most  abundant  evi 
dence  of  this  fact  is  furnished.  To  my  mind,  the  New 
Testament  establishes  no  doctrine,  u/Jess  it  satisfies 
11 


122  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

every  candid  reader  that  our  Lord  gaVe  plenipoten 
tiary  powers  to  Peter  to  govern  the  whole  Church. 
In  this  chapter  I  shall  speak  of  the  Promise,  the  In 
stitution,  and  the  exercise  of  Peter's  Primacy,  as 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  The  next  chapter 
shall  be  devoted  to  its  perpetuity  in  the  Popes. 

Promise  of  the  Primacy.  Our  Saviour,  on  a  certain 
occasion,  asked  His  disciples,  saying :  "  Whom  do 
men  say  that  the  Son  of  man  is?  And  they  said: 
Some  say  that  Thou  art  John  the  Baptist;  and 
others,  Elias ;  and  others,  Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the 
Prophets.  Jesus  saith  to  them :  But  whom  do  ye 
say  that  I  am  ?  "  Peter,  as  usual,  is  the  leader  and 
spokesman.  "  Simon  Peter  answering,  said :  Thou 
art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  And  Jesus 
answering  said  to  him :  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar- Jona :  because  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed 
it  to  thee,  but  My  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  And  I 
say  to  thee :  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  to  thee  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  also  in 
heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth, 
shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven." l  Here  we  find 
Peter  confessing  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  in  re 
ward  for  that  confession  he  is  honored  with  the 
Promise  of  the  Primacy. 

Our   Saviour,  by  the  words  "thou   art   Peter," 

1  Matt.  xvi.  13-19. 


PRIMACY  OF  PETER.  ...22 

clearly  alludes  to  the  new  name  which  He  Himself 
had  conferred  upon  Simon,  when  He  received  him 
into  the  number  of  His  followers  (John  i*.  42)  ;  and 
He  now  reveals  the  reason  for  the  change  of  name, 
which  was  to  insinuate  the  honor  He  was  to  confei 
on  him,  by  appointing  him  President  of  the  Chris 
tian  Republic ;  just  as  God,  in  the  Old  Law,  changed 
Abram's  name  to  Abraham,  ^hen  He  chose  him  to 
be  the  father  of  a  mighty  nation. 

The  word  Peter,  in  the  Syro-Chaldaic  tongue,  which 
our  Saviour  spoke,  means  a  rock.  The  sentence  runs 
thus  in  that  language:  "  Thou  art  a  rock,  and  on 
this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church"  Indeed,  all  re 
spectable  Protestant  commentators  have  now  aban 
doned,  and  even  ridicule,  the  absurdity  of  apply 
ing  the  word  rock  to  any  one  but  to  Peter ;  as  the 
sentence  can  bear  no  other  construction,  unless  our 
Lord's  good  grammar  and  common  sense  are  called 
in  question. 

Jesus,  our  Lord,  founded  but  one  Church,  which 
He  was  pleased  to  build  on  Peter.  Therefore,  any 
church  that  does  not  recognize  Peter  as  its  founda 
tion  stone,  is  not  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  there 
fore  cannot  stand,  for  it  is  not  the  work  of  God. 
This  is  plain.  Would  to  God  that  all  would  see  it 
aright,  and  with  eyes  free  from  prejudice. 

He  continues :  "  And  I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  etc.  In  ancient  times, 
and  particularly  among  the  Hebrew  people,  keys 
were  an  emblem  of  jurisdiction.  To  affirm  that  a 


124  THE   FAITH   OP  OUR  FATHERS. 

f 

man  had  received  the  keys  of  a  city,  was  equivalent  to 
the  assertion  that  he  had  been  appointed  its  governor 
In  the  Book  of  Revelation,  our  Saviour  says  thac 
He  has  "  the  keys  of  death  and  of  hell," l  which 
means  that  He  is  endowed  with  power  over  death 
and  hell.  In  fact,  even  to  this  day,  does  not  the 
presentation  of  keys  convey  among  ourselves  the 
idea  of  authority?  I?  the  proprietor  of  a  house, 
ou  leaving  it  for  the  summer,  says  to  any  friend : 
"  Here  are  the  keys  of  my  house,"  would  not  this 
simple  declaration,  without  a  word  of  explana 
tion,  convey  the  idea,  "  I  give  you  full  control 
of  my  house.  You  may  admit  or  exclude  whom 
you  please.  You  represent  me  in  my  absence  "  ?  Let 
us  now  apply  this  interpretation  to  our  Redeemer's 
words.  When  He  says  to  Peter:  "I  will  give  to 
thee  the  keys,"  etc.,  He  evidently  means :  I  will  give 
thee  supreme  authority  over  My  Church,  which  is 
the  citadel  of  faith,  My  earthly  Jerusalem.  Thou 
and  thy  successors  shall  be  My  visible  representa 
tives  to  the  end  of  time.  And  be  it  remembered 
that  to  Peter  alone,  and  to  no  other  Apostle,  were 
these  solemn  words  addressed. 

Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  The  promise  which  .our 
Redeemer  made  of  creating  Peter  the  supreme 
Ruler  of  His  Church,  is  fulfilled  in  the  following 
passage :  "  Jesus  saith  to  Simon  Peter :  Simon,  son 
of  John,  lovest  thou  Me  more  than  these  ?  He  saitb 
to  Him :  Yea,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee* 

1  fiev.  i  18. 


PRIMACY   OF  PETER.  125 

He  saith  to  him :  Feed  My  lambs.  He  saith  to  him 
again :  Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  Me  ?  He 
saith  to  Him :  Yea,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love 
Thee.  He  saith  to  him :  Feed  My  lambs.  He  saith 
to  him  the  third  time:  Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest 
thou  Me  ?  Peter  was  grieved  because  He  had  said 
to  him  the  third  time:  Lovest  thou  me?  And  he 
said  to  him :  Lord,  Thou  knowest  all  things.  Thou 
knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  He  said  to  Mm :  Feed 
My  sheep."1 

These  words  were  addressed  by  our  Lord  to  Peter 
after  His  resurrection.  The  whole  sheepfold  of 
Christ  is  confided  to  him,  without  any  exception  or 
limitation.  Peter  has  jurisdiction  not  only  over  the 
lambs, —  the  weak  and  tender  portion  of  the  flock, — 
by  which  are  understood  the  faithful ;  but  also  over 
the  sheep,  i.  e.}  the  Pastors  themselves,  who  hold  the 
same  relations  to  their  congregations  that  the  sheep 
hold  to  the  lambs,  because  they  bring  forth,  unto 
Jesus  Christ,  and  nourish  the  spiritual  lambs  of  the 
fold.  To  other  Pastors  a  certain  portion  of  the 
flock  is  assigned;  to  Peter,  the  entire  fold;  for, 
never  did  Jesus  say  to  any  other  Apostle  or  Bishop 
what  He  said  to  Peter :  Feed  My  whole  flock. 

Candid  reader,  do  you  not  profess  to  be  a  member 
of  Christ's  flo^k  ?  Yes,  you  answer.  Do  you  take 
your  spiritual  food  from  Peter,  and  from  his  suc 
cessor  ?  and  do  you  hear  the  voice  of  Peter  ?  or  have 


1  John  xxi.  16-17. 
11* 


126         THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

you  wandered  into  the  fold  of  strangers  who  spurn 
Peter's  voice?  Ponder  well  on  this  momentous 
question.  For,  if  Peter  is  authorized  to  feed  the 
lambs  of  Christ's  flock,  the  lambs  should  hear 
Peter's  voice. 

Exercise  of  the  Primacy.  In  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  which  contain  almost  the  only  Scripture 
narrative  that  exists  of  the  Apostles  subsequent  to 
our  Lord's  ascension,  St.  Peter  appears  before  us, 
like  Saul  among  the  tribes,  standing  head  and 
shoulders  over  his  brethren  by  the  prominent  part 
he  takes  in  every  ministerial  duty. 

The  first  twelve  chapters  of  the  Acts  are  devoted 
to  Peter,  and  to  some  of  the  other  Apostles ;  the  re 
maining  chapters  being  chiefly  occupied  with  the 
labors  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  In  that  brief 
historical  fragment,  as  well  as  in  the  Gospels,  the 
name  of  Peter  is  everywhere  pre-eminent. 

Peter's  name  always  stands  first  in  the  lists  of  the 
Apostles;  while  Judas  Iscariot  is  invariably  men 
tioned  last.1  Peter  is  even  called  by  St.  Matthew 
the  first  Apostle.  Now  Peter  was  first  neither  in  age 
nor  in  priority  of  election,  his  elder  brother  Andrew 
having  been  chosen  before  him.  The  meaning,  there 
fore,  of  the  expression  must  be,  that  Peter  was  first 
not  only  in  rank  and  honor,  but  also  in  authority. 

Peter  is  the  first  Apostle  who  performed  a  miracle.1 
He  is  the  first  to  address  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem^ 
while  his  Apostolic  brethren  stand  respectfully 

lMatt.  x.  2;  Mark  iii.  16;  Luke  vi.  14;  Acts  i.  14. 
•ActsiiL 


PRIMACY  OP  PETEB.  127 

around  him ;  upon  which  occasion  he  converts  three 
thousand  souls.1 

Peter  is  the  first  to  make  converts  from  the  Gen 
tile  world  in  the  persons  of  Cornelius  and  his 
friends.2 

When  it  is  a  question  of  electing  a  successor  to 
Judas,  Peter  alone  speaks.  He  points  out  to  the 
Apostles  and  disciples  the  duty  of  choosing  another 
to  succeed  the  traitor.  The  Apostles  silently  ac 
quiesce  in  the  instructions  of  their  leader.8 

In  the  Apostolic  Council  of  Jerusalem,  Peter 
is  the  first  whose  sentiments  are  recorded.  Before 
his  discourse,  "  there  was  much  disputing."  But 
when  he  had  ceased  to  speak,  "all  the  multitude 
held  their  peace."  * 

St.  James  and  the  other  Apostles  concur  in  the 
sentiments  of  Peter  without  a  single  dissenting 
voice. 

St.  James  is  cast  into  prison  by  Herod,  and 
afterwards  beheaded.  He  was  one  of  the  three 
most  favored  Apostles.  He  was  the  cousin  of  our 
Lord  and  brother  of  St.  John.  He  was  most  dear 
to  the  faithful.  Yet  no  extraordinary  efforts  are 
made  by  the  faithful  to  rescue  him  from  death. 

Peter  is  imprisoned  about  the  same  time.  The 
whole  Church  is  aroused.  Prayers  for  his  deliver 
ance  ascend  to  heaven,  not  only  from  Jerusalem, 
but  also  from  every  Christian  family  in  the  land.5 
The  army  of  the  Lord  can  afford  to  lose  a  chieftain 

1Actsii.     'Acts*.     'Actsi.     *Actsxv.     'Acts  xii. 


128  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

in  the  person  of  James ;  but  it  cannot  yet  spare  the 
commander-iu-chief.  The  enemies  of  the  Church 
had  hoped  that  the  destruction  of  the  chief  shepherd 
would  involve  the  dispersion  of  the  whole  flock. 
Therefore  they  redoubled  their  fury  against  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  just  as  her  modern  enemies 
concentrate  their  shafts  against  the  Pope,  his  suc 
cessor.  Does  not  this  incident  eloquently  proclaim 
Peter's  superior  authority?  In  fact,  Peter  figures 
so  conspicuously  in  every  page,  that  his  Primacy  is 
not  only  admissible,  but  is  forced  on  the  judgment 
of  the  impartial  reader. 

What  are  the  principal  objections  which  are  ad. 
vanced  against  the  Primacy  of  Peter?  They  are 
chiefly,  I  may  say  exclusively,  confined  to  the  three 
following :  1.  That  our  Lord  rebuked  Peter ;  2.  that 
St.  Paul  criticised  his  conduct  on  a  point  not  affect 
ing  doctrine,  but  discipline.  The  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  blames  St.  Peter  because  he  withdrew  for 
a  time  from  the  society  of  the  Gentile  converts,  for 
fear  of  scandalizing  the  newly-converted  Jews.1 
3.  That  the  supremacy  of  Peter  conflicts  with  the 
supreme  dominion  of  Christ. 

For  my  part,  I  cannot  see  how  these  objections 
can  invalidate  the  claims  of  Peter.  Was  not  Jesus 
Peter's  superior  ?  And  may  not  a  superior  rebuke 
his  servant,  without  infringing  on  the  servant's  pre 
rogatives  ? 

And  why  could  not  St.  Paul  censure  the  conduct 

'GaLii.ll. 


PRIMACY   OF  PETEB.  129 

of  St.  Peter,  without  questioning  that  superior's 
authority?  It  is  not  a  very  uncommon  thing  for 
ecclesiastics  occupying  an  inferior  position  in  the 
Church  to  admonish  even  the  Pope.  St.  Bernaid, 
though  only  a  monk,  wrote  a  work  in  which,  with 
Apostolic  freedom,  he  administers  counsel  to  Pope 
Eugenius  III.,  and  cautions  him  against  the  dangers 
to  which  his  eminent  position  exposes  him.  Yet 
no  man  had  more  reverence  for  any  Pope  than 
Bernard  had  for  this  great  Pontiff*.  Cannot  our 
Governor  animadvert  upon  the  President's  conduct 
without  impairing  the  President's  jurisdiction  ? 

Nay,  from  this  very  circumstance,  I  draw  a  con 
firming  evidence  of  Peter's  supremacy.  St.  Paul 
mentions  it  as  a  fact  worthy  of  record,  that  he 
actually  witJistood  Peter  to  his  face.  Do  you  think 
it  would  be  worth  recording,  if  Paul  had  rebuked 
James,  or  John,  or  Barnabas?  By  no  means.  If 
one  brother  rebukes  another,  the  matter  excites  no 
special  attention.  But  if  a  son  rebukes  his  father, 
or  if  a  Priest  rebukes  his  Bishop  to  his  face,  we 
understand  why  he  would  consider  it  a  fact  worth 
relating.  Hence,  when  St.  Paul  goes  to  the  trouble 
of  telling  us  that  he  took  exception  to  Peter's  con 
duct,  he  mentions  it  as  an  extraordinary  exercise  of 
Apostolic  freedom,  and  leaves  on  our  minds  the  ob 
vious  inference  that  Peter  was  his  superior. 

In  the  very  same  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  8t 
Paul  plainly  insinuates  St.  Peter's  superior  rank. 
"  I  went,"  he  says,  "  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  and 
I 


130  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

I  tarried  with  him  fifteen  days." *  Saints  Chrysos- 
tom,  Jerome,  and  Ambrose  tell  us  that  this  was  not 
an  idle  visit  of  ceremony,  but  that  the  object  of  St. 
Paul,  in  making  the  journey,  was  to  testify  his  re 
spect  and  honor  for  the  chief  of  the  Apostles. 

There  are  others  who  pretend,  in  spite  of  our 
Lord's  declaration  to  the  contrary,  that  loyalty  to 
Peter  is  disloyalty  to  Christ,  and  that  by  acknowl 
edging  Peter  as  the  rock  on  which  the  Church  is 
built,  we  set  our  Saviour  aside.  So  far  from  this 
being  the  case,  we  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
"  Chief  corner-stone,"  as  well  as  the  divine  Architect 
of  the  building. 

The  true  test  of  loyalty  to  Jesus  is  not  only  to 
worship  Himself,  but  to  venerate  even  the  repre 
sentatives  whom  He  has  chosen.  Will  any  one  pre 
tend  to  say  that  my  obedience  to  the  Governor's 
appointee,  is  a  mark  of  disrespect  to  the  Governor 
himself?  I  think  our  State  Executive  would  have 
little  faith  in  the  allegiance  of  any  citizen  who  would 
Bay  to  him  :  "  Governor,  I  honor  you  personally,  but 
your  official's  order  I  shall  disregard." 

St.  Peter  is  called  the  first  Bishop  of  Rome,  be 
cause  he  transferred  his  See  from  Antioch  to  Home, 
where  he  suffered  martyrdom  with  St.  Paul. 

We  are  not  surprised  that  modern  skepticism, 
which  rejects  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  denies  even 
the  existence  of  God,  should  call  in  question  the  fact 
that  St.  Peter  lived  and  died  in  Rome. 

»GaLL18. 


PRIMACY  OF  PETER.  131 

The  reason  commonly  alleged  for  disputing  thia 
well-attested  event,  is  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostlea 
make  no  mention  of  Peter's  labors  and  martyrdom 
in  Rome.  For  the  same  reason,  we  might  deny  that 
St.  Paul  was  beheaded  in  Rome,  that  St.  John  died 
in  Ephesus,  and  that  St.  Andrew  was  crucified.  Tfce 
Scripture  is  silent  regarding  these  historical  records, 
and  yet  they  are  denied  by  no  one. 

The  intrinsic  evidence  of  St.  Peter's  first  Epistle,  the 
testimony  of  his  immediate  successors  in  the  ministry, 
as  well  as  the  avowal  of  eminent  Protestant  commen 
tators,  all  concur  in  fixing  the  See  of  Peter  in  Rome. 

"  Babylon,"  from  which  Peter  addresses  his  first 
Epistle,  is  understood  by  learned  annotators,  Prot 
estant  and  Catholic,  to  refer  to  Rome,  —  the  word 
Babylon  being  symbolical  of  the  corruption  then 
prevailing  in  the  city  of  the  Csesars. 

Clement,  the  fourth  Bishop  of  Rome,  who  ia 
mentioned  in  terms  of  praise  by  St.  Paul;  St. 
Ignatius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  who  died  in  105; 
Irenseus,  Origen,  St.  Jerome,  Eusebius  the  great  his 
torian,  and  other  eminent  writers,  testify  to  St.  Peter's 
residence  in  Rome;  while  no  ancient  ecclesiastical 
writer  has  ever  contradicted  the  statement. 

John  Calvin,  a  witness  above  suspicion,  Cave,  an 
able  Anglican  critic,  Grotius,  and  other  distinguished 
Protestant  writers,  do  not  hesitate  to  re-echo  the 
unanimous  voice  of  Catholic  tradition. 

Indeed,  no  historical  fact  will  escape  the  shafts 
of  incredulity,  if  St.  Peter's  residence  and  glorious 
martyrdom  in  Rome  are  called  in  question. 


132  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SUPREMACY   OF   THE  POPE. 

THE  Church  did  not  die  with  Peter,  but  was 
destined  to  continue  till  the  end  of  time.  Con 
sequently,  whatever  official  prerogatives  were  con 
ferred  on  Peter,  were  not  to  cease  at  his  death,  but 
were  to  be  handed  down  to  his  successors  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  Churcn  is  in  all 
ages  as  much  in  need  of  a  Supreme  Ruler  as  it 
was  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  Nay  more ;  as  the 
Church  is  now  more  widely  diffused  than  it  was 
then,  and  is  ruled  by  frailer  men,  it  is  more  than 
ever  in  need  of  a  central  power  to  preserve  its  unity 
of  faith  and  uniformity  of  discipline. 

Whatever  privileges,  therefore,  were  conferred 
on  Peter,  which  may  be  considered  essential  to  the 
government  of  the  Church,  are  inherited  by  the 
Bishops  of  Rome,  as  successors  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles ;  just  as  the  constitutional  powers  given  to 
George  Washington  have  devolved  on  the  present 
incumbent  of  the  Presidential  chair. 

Peter,  it  is  true,  besides  the  prerogatives  inherent 
in  his  office,  possessed  aiso  the  power  of  working 
miracles,  and  the  gift  of  inspiration.  These  two 
latter  gifts  are  not  claimed  by  the  Pope,  as  they 
were  personal  to  Peter,  and  by  no  means  essential 
to  the  government  of  the  Church.  God  acts  towardi 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPES.  133 

His  Church  as  we  deal  with  a  tender  sapling. 
When  we  first  plant  it,  we  water  it,  and  soften  the 
clay  about  its  roots.  But  when  it  takes  deep  root, 
we  leave  it  to  the  care  of  Nature's  laws.  lu  like 
manner,  when  Christ  first  planted  His  Church,  He 
nourished  its  infancy  by  miraculous  agency;  but 
when  it  grew  to  be  a  tree  of  fair  proportions,  He 
left  it  to  be  governed  by  the  general  laws  of  His 
Providence. 

From  what  I  have  said,  you  can  easily  infer  that 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  Peter's  Primacy  have 
equal  weight  in  demonstrating  the  supremacy  of  the 
Popes. 

As  the  present  question,  however,  is  a  subject  of 
vast  importance,  I  shall  endeavor  to  show,  from  in 
contestable  historical  evidence,  that  the  Popes  have 
always,  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  continued  to 
exercise  supreme  jurisdiction,  not  only  in  the 
Western  church,  till  the  Reformation,  but  also 
throughout  the  Eastern  church,  till  the  great 
schism  of  the  ninth  century. 

1.  Take  the  question  of  appeals.  An  appeal  is 
never  made  from  a  superior  to  an  inferior  court,  not 
even  from  one  court  to  another  of  co-ordinate  juris 
diction.  We  do  not  appeal  from  Washington  to 
Richmond,  but  from  Richmond  to  Washington 
Now,  if  we  find  the  See  of  Rome,  from  the  founda 
tion  of  Christianity,  entertaining  and  deciding  cases 
of  appeal  from  the  Oriental  churches ;  if  we  find 
that  her  decision  was  final  and  irrevocable,  we  must 
12 


134  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

conclude  that  the  supremacy  of  Rome  over  all  the 
churches  is  an  undeniable  fact. 

Let  me  give  you  a  few  illustrations : 

To  begin  with  Pope  St.  Clement,  who  was  the 
third  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  who  is  laudably 
mentioned  by  St.  Paul  in  one  of  his  Epistles.  Some 
dissension  and  scandal  having  occurred  in  the  church 
of 'Corinth,  the  matter  is  brought  to  the  notice  of 
Pope  Clement.  He  at  once  exercises  his  supreme 
authority  by  writing  letters  of  remonstrance  and  ad 
monition  to  the  Corinthians.  And  so  great  was  the 
reverence  entertained  for  these  Epistles,  by  the 
faithful  of  Corinth,  that  for  a  century  later  it  was 
customary  to  have  them  publicly  read  in  their 
churches.  Why  did  the  Corinthians  appeal  to  Rome 
far  away  in  the  West,  and  not  to  Ephesus  so  near 
home  in  the  East,  where  the  Apostle  St.  John 
still  lived?  Evidently  because  the  jurisdiction  of 
Ephesus  was  local,  while  that  of  Rome  was  univer 
sal. 

About  the  year  190,  the  question  regarding  the 
proper  day  for  celebrating  Easter  was  agitated  in 
the  East,  and  referred  to  Pope  St.  Victor  I.  The 
Eastern  church  generally  celebrated  Easter  on  the 
day  on  which  the  Jews  kept  the  Passover ;  while  in 
the  West  it  was  observed  then,  as  it  is  now,  on  the 
first  Sunday  after  the  full  moon  of  the  vernal  equi 
nox.  St.  Victor  directs  the  Eastern  churches,  for  the 
sake  of  uniformity,  to  conform  to  the  practice  of  thf 
West,  and  his  instructions  are  universally  followed. 


SUPREMACY  OP  THE  POPES.  135 

Dionysius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  about  the  middle  of 
the  third  century,  having  heard  that  the  Patriarch 
of  Alexandria  erred  on  some  points  of  faith,  demands 
an  explanation  of  the  suspected  Prelate,  who,  in 
obedience  to  his  superior,  promptly  vindicates  his 
own  orthodoxy. 

St.  Athanasius,  the  great  Patriarch  of  Alexandria, 
appeals  in  the  fourth  century,  to  Pope  Julius  I.,  from 
an  unjust  decision  rendered  against  him  by  the 
Oriental  bishops ;  and  the  Pope1  re  verses  the  sentence 
of  the  Eastern  council. 

St.  Basil,  Archbishop  of  Csesarea,  in  the  same 
century,  has  recourse,  in  his  afflictions,  to  the  protec 
tion  of  Pope  Damasus. 

St.  John  Chrysostom,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
appeals  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  to  Pope 
Innocent  I.,  for  a  redress  of  grievances  inflicted  on 
him  by  several  Eastern  Prelates,  and  by  the  Em 
press  Eudoxia  of  Constantinople. 

St.  Cyril  appeals  to  Pope  Celestine  against  Nesto- 
rius;  Nestorius  also  appeals  to  the  same  Pontiff, 
who  takes  the  side  of  Cyril. 

Theodoret,  the  illustrious  historian  and  Bishop 
of  Cyrrhus,  is  condemned  by  the  pseudo-council  of 
Ephesus  in  449,  and  appeals  to  Pope  Leo  in  the 
following  touching  language :  "  I  await  the  decision 
of  your  Apostolic  See,  and  I  supplicate  your  Holi 
ness  to  succor  me,  who  invoke  your  righteous  and 
just  tribunal;  and  to  order  me  to  hasten  to  you, 
1  Socrates'  Ecclesiastical  History,  B.  II.,  c.  xv. 


136  THE  FAITH   OF   OUK   FATHERS. 

and  to  explain  to  you  my  teaching,  which  follows 

the  steps  of  the  Apostles I  beseech  you 

not  to  scorn  my  application.  Do  not  slight  my 

gray  hairs Above  all,  I  entreat  you  to 

teach  me  whether  to  put  up  with  this  unjust 
deposition  or  not.  For,  I"  await  your  sentence. 
If  you  bid  me  rest  in  what  has  been  determined 
against  me,  I  will  rest,  and  will  trouble  no  man 
more.  I  will  look  for  the  righteous  judgment 
of  our  God  and  Saviour.  To  me,  as  Almighty 
God  is  my  Judge,  honor  and  glory  is  no  ob 
ject,  but  only  the  scandal  that  has  been  caused: 
for  many  of  the  simpler  sort,  especially  those 
whom  I  have  rescued  from  diverse  heresies,  con 
sidering  the  see  which  has  condemned  me,  sus 
pect  that  perhaps  I  really  am  a  heretic,  being 
incapable  themselves  of  distinguishing  accuracy  of 
doctrine."  l 

John,  Abbot  of  Constantinople,  appeals  from  the 
decision  of  the  Patriarch  of  that  city  to  Pope  St. 
Gregory  I.,  who  reverses  the  sentence  of  the  Patri 
arch. 

In  859,  Photius  addressed  a  letter  to  Pope  Nicho 
las  L,  asking  the  Pontiff  to  confirm  his  election  to 
the  Patriarchate  of  Constantinople.  In  consequence 
of  the  Pope's  conscientious  refusal,  Photius  broke 
off  from  the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  became  the  author  of  the  Greek  schism. 

Here  are  a  few  examples  taken  at  random  from 

1  Epist.  113. 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPES.  137 

Church  History.  We  see  Prelates  most  eminent 
for  their  sanctity  and  learning,  occupying  the  high 
est  position  in  the  Eastern  church,  and  consequently 
far  removed  from  the  local  influences  of  Rome,  ap 
pealing,  in  every  period  of  the  early  Church,  from 
the  decisions  of  their  own  Bishops  and  their  Coun- 
cils  to  the  supreme  arbitration  of  the  Holy  See.  If 
this  does  not  constitute  superior  jurisdiction,  I  have 
yet  to  learn  what  superior  authority  means. 

2.  Christians  of  every  denomination  admit  the 
orthodoxy  of  the  Fathers  of  the  first  five  centuries 
of  the  Church.  No  one  has  ever  called  in  question 
the  faith  of  such  men  as  Basil,  Chrysostom,  Cyprian, 
Augustine,  Jerome,  Ambrose,  and  Leo.  They  were 
the  acknowledged  guardians  of  pure  doctrine,  and 
the  living  representatives  "of  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints."  They  were  to  the  Church  in  their 
generation  what  Peter  and  Paul  and  James  were  to 
the  Church  in  its  infancy.  We  instinctively  consult 
them  about  the  faith  of  those  times ;  for,  to  whom 
shall  we  go  for  the  words  of  eternal  life,  if  not  to 
them? 

Now,  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  with  one  voice, 
pay  homage  to  the  Bishops  of  Rome  as  their  supe 
riors.  The  limited  space  I  have  allowed  myself  in 
this  little  volume,  will  not  permit  me  to  give  any 
extracts  from  their  writings.  The  reader  who  may 
be  unacquainted  with  the  original  language  of  the 
Fathers,  or  who  has  not  their  writings  at  hand,  is 
referred  to  a  work  entitled,  "  Faith  of  Catholics," 


138  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

where  he  will  find,  in  an  English  translation,  copious 
extracts  from  their  writings,  vindicating  the  Primacy 
of  the  Popes. 

3.  Ecumenical  Councils  afford  another  eloquent 
vindication  of  Papal  supremacy.  An  Ecumenical 
or  General  Council  is  an  assemblage  of  Prelates  rej>- 
resenting  the  whole  Catholic  Church.  A  General 
Council  is  to  the  Church  what  the  Executive  and 
Legislative  bodies  in  Washington  are  to  the  United 
States. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  nineteen  Ecumenical 
Councils  have  been  convened,  including  the  Council 
of  the  Vatican.  The  last  eleven  were  held  in  the 
West,  and  the  first  eight  in  the  East.  I  will  pasa 
over  the  Western  Councils,  as  no  one  denies  that 
they  were  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Pope. 

I  shall  briefly  speak  of  the  important  influence 
which  the  Holy  See  exercised  in  the  eight  Oriental 
Councils. 

The  first  General  Council  was  held  in  Nicsea,  in 
325 ;  the  second,  in  Constantinople,  in  381 ;  the 
third,  in  Ephesus,  in  431 ;  the  fourth,  in  Chalcedon, 
in  451 ;  the  fifth,  in  Constantinople,  in  553  ;  the 
sixth,  in  the  same  city,  in  680;  the  seventh,  in 
Nicsea,  in  787  ;  and  the  eighth,  in  Constantinople,  in 
869. 

The  Bishops  of  Rome  convoked  these  assemblages, 
or  at  least  consented  to  their  convocation ;  they  pre 
sided  by  their  legates  over  all  of  them,  except  the 
first  and  second  councils  of  Constantinople,  and  they 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPES.          139 

confirmed  all  these  eight  by  their  authority.  Before 
becoming  a  law,  the  acts  of  the  Councils  required 
the  Pope's  signature,  just  as  our  Congressional  pro 
ceedings  require  the  President's  signature  before  they 
acquire  the  force  of  law. 

Is  not  this  a  striking  illustration  of  the  Primacy  ? 
The  Pope  convenes,  rules,  and  sanctions  the  Synods, 
not  by  courtesy,  but  by  right.  A  dignitary  who 
calls  an  assembly  together,  who  presides  over  its  de 
liberations,  whose  signature  is  essential  for  confirming 
its  acts,  has  surely  a  higher  authority  than  the  other 
members. 

4.  I  shall  refer  to  one  more  historical  point  in  sup 
port  of  the  Pope's  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  Church. 
It  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  every  nation 
hitherto  converted  from  Paganism  to  Christianity,  since 
the  days  of  the  Apostles,  has  received  the  light  of  faith 
from  missionaries  who  were  either  especially  commis 
sioned  by  the  See  of  Rome,  or  sent  by  Bishops  in  open 
communion  with  that  See.  This  historical  fact  admits 
of  no  exception.  Let  me  particularize : 

Ireland's  Apostle  is  St.  Patrick.  Who  commis- 
sicned  him  ?  Pope  St.  Celestine,  in  the  fifth  century. 

St.  Palladius  is  the  Apostle  of  Scotland.  Who 
gent  him  ?  The  same  Pontiff,  Celestine. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  received  the  faith  from  St, 
Augustine,  a  Benedictine  monk,  as  all  historians 
Catholic  and  non-Catholic  testify.  Who  empowered 
Augustine  to  preach  ?  Pope  Gregory  I.,  at  the  end 
of  the  sixth  century. 


140  THE   FAITH   OF   OTTR   FATHERS. 

St  Remigius  established  the  faith  in  France,  at 
tiie  close  of  the  fifth  century.  He  was  in  active  com 
munion  with  the  See  of  Peter. 

Flanders  received  the  Gospel  in  the  seventh  cen 
tury  from  St.  Eligius,  who  acknowledged  the  su 
premacy  of  the  reigning  Pope. 

Germany  and  Bavaria  venerate  as  their  Apostle 
St.  Boniface,  who  is  popularly  known  in  his  native 
England  by  his  baptismal  name  of  Wiufrid.  He 
was  commissioned  by  Pope  Gregory  II.,  in  the  be 
ginning  of  the  eighth  century,  and  was  consecrated 
Bishop  by  the  same  Pontiff. 

In  the  ninth  century,  two  saintly  brothers,  Cyril 
and  Methodius,  evangelized  Russia,  Sclavonia,  and 
Moravia,  and  other  parts  of  Northern  Europe.  They 
recognized  the  supreme  authority  of  Pope  Nicholas 
I.,  and  of  his  successors,  Adrian  II.  and  John  VIII. 

In  the  eleventh  century,  Norway  was  converted 
by  missionaries  introduced  from  England  by  the 
Norwegian  King  St.  Olave. 

The  conversion  of  Sweden  was  consummated  in 
the  same  century  by  the  British  Apostles  Saints 
Ulfrid  and  Eskill.  Both  of  these  nations  immedi 
ately  after  their  conversion  commenced  to  pay  Rome- 
scot,  or  a  small  annual  tribute  to  the  Holy  See, — 
a  clear  evidence  that  they  were  in  communion  with 
the  Chair  of  Peter.1 

All  the  other  nations  of  Europe,  having  been  con 
verted  before  the  Reformation,  received  likewise  the 

Butler' 3  Lives  of  the  Saints,— St.  Olave,  July  29th. 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPES.  141 

light  of  faith  from  Roman  Catholic  Missionaries, 
because  Europe  then  recognized  only  one  Christian 
Chief. 

Passing  from  Europe  to  Asia  and  America,  it  is 
undeniable  that  St.  Francis  Xavier  and  the  other 
Evangelists  who,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  extended 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  through  India  and 
Japan,  were  in  communion  with  the  Holy  See ;  and 
that  those  Apostles  who,  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven 
teenth  centuries,  converted  the  aboriginal  tribes  of 
South  America  and  Mexico,  received  their  commis 
sion  from  the  Chair  of  Peter. 

But  you  will  say:  The  people  of  the  United 
States  profess  to  be  a  Christian  nation.  Do  you 
also  claim  them  ?  Most  certainly ;  for,  even  those 
American  Christians  who  are  unhappily  severed 
from  the  Catholic  Church,  are  primarily  indebted 
for  their  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  to  missionaries  in 
communion  with  the  Holy  See. 

The  white  races  of  North  America  are  descended 
from  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  the  nations 
of  Continental  Europe.  Those  European  nations 
having  been  converted  by  missionaries  in  subjection 
to  the  Holy  See,  it  follows  that  from  whatever  part 
of  Europe  you  are  descended,  whatever  may  be  your 
particular  creed,  you  are  indebted  to  the  Church  of 
Rome  for  your  knowledge  of  Christianity. 

Do  not  these  facts  demonstrate  the  Primacy  of  the 
Pope?  The  Apostles  of  Europe  and  of  other  coun 
tries  received  their  authority  from  Rome.  Is  not 


142  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

the  power  that  sends  an  ambassador  greater  than  he 
who  is  sent  ? 

Thus  we  see  that  the  name  of  the  Pope  is  indelibly 
marked  on  every  page  of  ecclesiastical  history.  The 
sovereign  Pontiff  ever  stands  before  us  as  com 
mand  er-iu-chief  in  the  grand  army  of  the  Church. 
Do  the  Bishops  of  the  East  feel  themselves  aggrieved 
at  home  by  their  Patriarchs  or  civil  Rulers  ?  they 
look  for  redress  to  Rome,  as  to  the  star  of  their  hope. 
Are  the  Fathers  and  Doctors  of  the  early  Church 
consulted  ?  with  one  voice  they  all  pay  homage  to 
the  Bishop  of  Rome  as  their  spiritual  Priuce.  Is  an 
Ecumenical  Council  to  be  convened  in  the  East  or 
West  ?  the  Pope  is  its  leading  spirit.  Are  new  na 
tions  to  be  converted  to  the  faith  ?  there  is  the  Holy 
Father  clothing  the  missionaries  with  authority,  and 
giving  his  blessing  to  the  work.  Are  new  errors 
to  be  condemned  in  any  part  of  the  globe?  all 
eyes  turn  towards  the  oracle  of  Rome  to  await  his 
anathema,  and  his  solemn  judgment  reverberates 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Christian 
world. 

You  might  as  well  shut  out  the  light  of  day  and 
the  air  of  heaven  from  your  daily  walk,  as  exclude 
the  Pope  from  his  legitimate  sphere  in  the  hierarchy 
of  the  Church.  The  history  of  the  United  States 
with  the  Presidents  left  out,  would  be  more  intelligi 
ble  than  the  history  of  the  Church  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  Vicar  of  Christ.  How,  I  ask,  could  such  great 
authority  endure  so  long,  if  it  were  a  usurpation  ? 


SUPREMACY  OF  THE  POPES.         143 

But  you  will  tell  me:  "The  supremacy  of  the 
Pope  has  baen  disputed  in  many  ages."  So  has  the 
authority  of  God  been  called  in  question ;  nay,  His 
very  existence  has  been  denied  ;  for,  "  the  fool  hath 
said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God."1  Does  this 
denial  destroy  the  existence  and  dominion  of  God  ? 
Has  not  parental  authority  been  impugned  from  the 
beginning?  But  by  whom?  By  unruly  children. 
Was  David  no  longer  king,  because  Absalom  said 
so? 

It  is  thus  also  with  the  Popes.  Their  parental 
sway  has  been  opposed  only  by  their  undutiful  sons 
who  grew  impatient  of  the  Gospel  yoke.  Photius, 
the  leader  of  the  Greek  schism,  was  an  obedient  son 
of  the  Pope  until  Nicholas  refused  to  recognize  his 
usurped  authority.  Henry  VIII.  was  a  stout  de 
fender  of  the  Pope's  supremacy  until  Clement  VII. 
refused  to  legalize  his  adultery.  Luther  professed 
a  most  abject  submission  to  the  Pope  till  Leo  X. 
condemned  him. 

You  cannot,  my  dear  reader,  be  a  loyal  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  while  you  deny  the  constitu 
tional  a  ithority  of  the  President.  You  have  seen 
that  the  Bishop  of  Home  is  appointed  not  by  man, 
but  by  Jesus  Christ,  President  of  the  Christian 
commonwealth.  You  cannot,  therefore,  be  a  true 
citizen  of  the  Republic  of  the  Church  so  long  as 
you  spurn  the  legitimate  supremacy  of  its  divinely- 
constituted  Chief.  "He  that  is  not  with  Me,  is 
against  Me,"  says  our  Lord,  "  and  he  that  gathereth 
1  Ps.  lii 


144  THF   FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

not  with  Me,  scattereth."  How  can  you  be  with 
Christ,  if  you  are  against  His  Vicar  ? 

The  great  evil  of  our  times  is  the  unhappy  divi 
sion  existing  among  the  professors  of  Christianity, 
and  from  thousands  of  hearts  a  yearning  cry  goes 
forth  for  unity  of  faith  and  union  of  churches. 

It  was,  no  doubt,  with  this  laudable  view,  that 
the  Evangelical  Alliance  assembled  in.  New  York 
in  the  fall  of  1873.  The  representatives  of  the 
different  religious  communions  hoped  to  effect  a 
reunion.  But  they  signally  and  lamentably  failed. 
Indeed,  the  only  result  which  followed  from  the 
alliance,  was  the  creation  of  a  new  sect  under  the 
auspices  of  Dr.  Cummins.  That  reverend  gentle 
man,  with  the  characteristic  modesty  of  all  religious 
Reformers,  was  determined  to  have  a  hand  in  im 
proving  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ;  and,  like  the 
other  Reformers,  he  said,  witi.  those  who  built  the 
tower  of  Babel :  "  Let  us  make  our  name  famous 
before  " l  our  dust  is  scattered  to  the  wind. 

The  Alliance  failed,  because  its  members  had  no 
common  platform  to  stand  on.  There  was  no  voice 
in  that  assembly  that  could  say  with  authority : 
"Thussaith  the  "Lord." 

I  heartily  join  in  this  prayer  for  Christian  unity, 
and  gladly  would  surrender  my  life  for  such  a  con 
summation.  But  I  tell  you  that  Jesus  Christ  has 
pointed  out  the  only  means  by  which  this  unity  can 
be  maintained,  viz.:  the  recognition  of  Peter  and 
his  successors  as  the  head  of  the  Church.  Build  upon 
1  Gen.  xi.  4. 


INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE   POPES.  145 

this  foundation,  and  you  will  not  erect  a  tower  of 
Biibel,  nor  build  upon  sand.  If  all  Christian  secta 
Wfcre  united  with  the  centre  of  unity,  then  the  scat 
tered  hosts  of  Christendom  would  form  an  army 
which  atheism  and  infidelity  could  not  long  with 
stand.  Then  indeed  all  could  exclaim  with  Balaam  : 
"  How  beautiful  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Jacob,  and 
thy  tents,  O  Israel !  "  * 

Let  us  pray  that  the  day  may  be  hastened  when 
religious  dissensions  will  cease,  when  all  Christians 
will  advance  with  united  front,  under  one  common 
leader,  to  plant  the  cross  in  every  region  and  win 
new  kingdoms  to  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XL 

INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE    POPES. 

AS  the  doctrine  of  Papal  Infallibility  is  strangely 
misapprehended  by  our  separated  brethren,  be 
cause  it  is  grievously  misrepresented  by  those  who 
profess  to  be  enlightened  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
I  shall  begin  by  stating  what  Infallibility  does  not 
mean,  and  shall  then  explain  what  it  really  is. 

1st.  The  infallibility  of  the  Popes  does  not  signify 
that  they  are  inspired.  The  Apostles  were  endowed 
with  the  gift  of  inspiration,  and  we  accept  their 
writings  as  the  revealed  word  of  God. 

2  Numb.  xxiv.  5. 
13 


146  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

No  Catholic,  on  the  contrary,  claims  that  the 
Pope  is  inspired,  or  endowed  with  divine  revelatioD 
properly  so  called. 

"  For,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  promised  to  the 
successors  of  Peter  in  order  that  they  might  spread 
abroad  new  doctrine  which  He  reveals,  but  that, 
under  His  assistance,  they  might  guard  inviolably, 
and  with  fidelity  explain,  the  revelation  or  deposit 
of  faith  handed  down  by  the  Apostles."  l 

2d.  Infallibility  does  not  mean  that  the  Pope  is 
impeccable,  or  specially  exempt  from  liability  to 
sin.  The  Popes  have  been  indeed,  with  few  excep 
tions,  men  of  virtuous  lives.  Many  of  them  are 
honored  as  martyrs.  Seventy-nine,  out  of  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  that  sat  on  the  chair 
of  Peter,  are  invoked  upon  our  altars,  as  saints  emi 
nent  for  their  holiness. 

The  avowed  enemies  of  the  Church  charge  only 
five  or  six  Popes  with  immorality.  Thus,  even  ad 
mitting  the  truth  of  the  accusations  brought  against 
them,  we  have  forty-three  virtuous  to  one  bad  Pope, 
while  there  was  a  Judas  Iscariot  among  the  twelve 
Apostles. 

But  although  a  vast  majority  of  the  sovereign 
Pontiffs  should  have  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  lead 
vicious  lives,  this  circumstance  would  not  of  itself 
impair  the  validity  of  their  prerogatives,  which  are 
given  not  for  the  preservation  of  their  morals,  but 
for  the  guidance  of  their  judgment ;  for,  there  was 

1  Cone.  Vat.  Const.  Pastor  J2ternu3,  c  4. 


INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE   POPES.  147 

a  Balaam    among  the    Prophets,   and   a   Caiphas 
among  the  High  Priests  of  the  Old  Law. 

The  present  illustrious  Pontiff  is  a  man  of  110 
ordinary  sanctity.  He  has  already  filled  the  high 
est  position  in  the  Church  for  upwards  of  thirty 
years,  "  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to 
men,"  and  no  man  can  point  out  a  stain  upon  his 
moral  character. 

And  yet  Pius  IX.,  like  his  predecessors,  confesses 
his  sins  every  week.  Each  morning,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  Mass,  he  says  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  " 
confess  to  Almighty  God,  and  to  His  Saints,  that  I 
have  sinned  exceedingly  in  thought,  word,  and 
deed."  And  at  the  Offertory  of  the  Mass  he  says : 
"Receive,  O  Holy  Father,  almighty,  everlasting 
God,  this  oblation  which  I,  Thy  unworthy  ser 
vant,  offer  for  my  innumerable  sins,  offences,  and 
negligences." 

With  these  facts  before  their  eyes,  I  cannot  com 
prehend  how  ministers  of  the  Gospel  betray  so  much 
ignorance,  or  are  guilty  of  so  much  malice,  as  to 
proclaim  from  their  pulpits,  which  ought  to  be  con 
secrated  to  truth,  that  Infallibility  means  exemp 
tion  from  sin.  I  do  not  see  how  they  can  benefit 
their  cause  by  such  flagrant  perversions  of  truth. 

3d.  Bear  in  mind,  also,  that  this  divine  assistance 
is  guaranteed  to  the  Pope,  not  in  his  capacity  as  a 
private  teacher,  but  only  in  his  official  capacity, 
when  he  judges  of  faith  and  morals  as  Head  of  the 
Church.  If  a  Pope,  for  instance,  like  Benedict 


148  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

XIV.,  were  to  write  a  treatise  on  Canon  Law,  his 
book  would  be  as  much  open  to  criticism  as  thai  of 
any  doctor  of  the  Church. 

4th.  Finally,  the  inerrability  of  the  Popes,  being 
restricted  to  questions  of  faith  and  morals,  does  not 
extend  to  the  natural  sciences,  such  as  astronomy  or 
geology,  unless  where  error  is  presented  under  the 
false  name  of  science,  and  arrays  itself  against  re 
vealed  truth.1  It  does  not,  therefore,  concern  itself 
about  the  nature  and  motions  of  the  planets.  Nor 
does  it  regard  purely  political  questions,  such  as  the 
form  of  government  a  nation  ought  to  adopt,  or 
what  candidates  we  ought  to  vote  for. 

Consequently,  the  Pope's  Infallibility  does  not  in 
any  way  trespass  on  the  civil  authority.  For,  the 
Pope's  jurisdiction  belongs  to  spiritual  matters; 
while  the  duty  of  the  state  is  to  provide  for  the  tem 
poral  welfare  of  its  subjects. 

What,  then,  is  the  real  doctrine  of  Infallibility  ? 
It  simply  means  that  the  Pope,  as  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  by  virtue  of  the  prom 
ises  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  preserved  from  error  of  judg 
ment  when  he  promulgates  to  the  Church  a  decision 
on  faith  or  morals. 

The  Pope,  therefore,  be  it  known,  is  not  the  maker 
of  the  divine  law ;  he  is  only  its  expounder.  He  is 
not  the  author  of  revelation,  but  only  its  interpreter. 
AJ1  revelation  came  from  God  alone  through  His 
inspired  ministers,  and  was  complete  in  the  begin- 

1  Cone.  Vat.  Const.  Dei,  Fttiua,  cap.  4 ;  Coloss.  ii.  &. 


INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE   POPES.  149 

ning  of  the  Church.  The  Holy  Father  has  no  more 
authority  than  you  or  I  to  break  one  iota  or  tittle 
of  the  Scripture,  and  he  is  equally  wi_h  us  the  ser 
vant  of  the  divine  law. 

In  a  word,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  is  to  the  Church, 
though  in  a  more  eminent  degree,  what  the  Chief 
Justice  is  to  the  United  States.  We  have  an  instru 
ment  called  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
which  is  the  charter  of  our  civil  rights  and  liberties. 
If  a  controversy  arise  between  two  States  regarding 
a  constitutional  clause,  the  question  is  referred,  in 
the  last  resort,  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington. 
The  Chief  Justice,  with  his  associate  judges,  examines 
into  the  case,  and  then  pronounces  judgment  upon 
it ;  and  this  decision  is  final,  irrevocable,  and  prac 
tically  infallible. 

If  there  were  no  such  court  to  settle  constitutional 
questions,  the  Constitution  itself  would  soon  become 
a  dead  letter.  Every  litigant  would  conscientiously 
decide  the  dispute  in  his  own  favor,  and  anarchy  and 
separation  and  civil  war  would  soon  follow.  But 
by  means  of  this  Supreme  Court,  disputes  are  ended, 
and  the  political  union  of  the  States  is  perpetuated, 
There  would  have  been  no  civil  war  in  1861,  had 
our  domestic  quarrel  been  submitted  to  the  legiti 
mate  action  of  our  highest  court  of  judicature, 
instead  of  being  left  to  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword. 

The  revealed  word  of  God  is  the  constitution  of 
the  Church.  This  is  the  Magna  Charta  of  our 
13* 


150  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

Christian  liberties.  The  Pope  is  the  official  guar 
dian  of  our  religious  constitution,  as  the  Chief  Jus 
tice  is  the  guardian  of  our  civil  constitution. 

When  a  dispute  arises  in  the  Church  regarding 
the  sense  of  Scripture,  the  subject  is  referred  to 
the  Pope  for  final  adjudication.  The  sovereign 
Pontiff,  before  deciding  the  case,  gathers  around 
him  his  venerable  colleagues,  the  Cardinals  of  the 
Church ;  or  he  calls  a  council  of  his  associate  judges 
of  faith,  the  Bishops  of  Christendom  ;  or  he  has  re 
course  to  other  lights  which  the  Holy  Ghost  may 
suggest  to  him.  Then,  after  mature  and  prayerful 
deliberation,  he  pronounces  judgment,  and  his  sen 
tence  is  final,  irrevocable,  and  infallible. 

If  the  Catholic  Church  were  not  fortified  by  this 
divinely-established  supreme  tribunal,  she  would  be 
broken  up  like  the  sects  around  her  into  a  thousand 
fragments,  and  religious  anarchy  would  soon  follow. 
But  by  means  of  this  infallible  court,  her  marvel 
lous  unity  is  preserved  throughout  the  world.  This 
doctrine  is  the  keystone  in  the  arch  of  Catholic 
faith,  and,  far  from  arousing  opposition,  it  ought  to 
command  the  unqualified  admiration  of  every  re 
flecting  mind. 

These  explanations  being  premised,  let  us  now 
briefly  consider  the  grounds  of  the  doctrine  itself. 

The  following  passages  of  the  Gospel,  spoken  at 
different  times,  were  addressed  exclusively  to  Peter: 
"Thou  art  Peter;  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build 
My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 


INFALLIBILITY   OF  THE   POPES.  151 

against  it."1  "  I,  the  supreme  Architect  of  the  uni 
verse,"  says  our  Saviour,  "  will  establish  a  Church 
which  is  to  last  till  the  end  of  time.  I  will  lay  the 
foundation  of  this  Church  so  deep  and  strong  on  the 
rock  of  truth  that  the  winds  and  storms  of  error 
shall  never  prevail  against  it.  Thou,  O  Peter,  shalt 
be  the  foundation  of  this  Church.  It  shall  never 
fall,  because  thou  shalt  never  be  shaken ;  and  thou 
shalt  never  be  shaken,  because  thou  slialt  rest  on 
Me,  the  rock  of  truth."  The  Church,  of  which 
Peter  is  the  foundation,  is  declared  to  be  impreg 
nable,  that  is,  proof  against  error.  How  can  you 
suppose  an  immovable  edifice  built  on  a  totter 
ing  foundation?  for  it  is  not  the  ouilding  that 
sustains  the  foundation,  but  it  is  the  foundation 
which  supports  the  building. 

"  And  I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."2  Thou  shalt  hold  the  keys  of  truth, 
with  which  to  open  to  the  faithful  the  treasures  of 
heavenly  science.  "  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind 
on  earth  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven."8  The 
judgment  which  thou  shalt  pronounce  on  earth  I 
will  ratify  in  heaven.  Surely  the  God  of  truth  ia 
incapable  of  sanctioning  an  untruthful  judgment. 

"  Behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you  (my 
Apostles),  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat.  But  1 
have  prayed  for  thee  (Peter)  that  thy  faith  fail 
not;  and  thou,  being  once  converted,  confirm  thy 
brethren."  *  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Jesus  prays 

1  Matt.  zvi.        2  Ibid.        8  Ibid.        *  Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 


152  THE   FAITH   O7   OUR   FATHERS 

only  for  Peter.  And  why  for  Peter  in  particular? 
Because  on  his  shoulders  was  to  rest  the  burden  of 
the  Church.  Our  Lord  prays  for  two  things:  1. 
That  the  faith  of  Peter  and  of  his  successors  might 
not  fail ;  2.  That  Peter  would  confirm  his  brethren 
in  the  faith,  "  in  order,"  as  St.  Leo  says,  "  that  the 
strength  given  by  Christ  to  Peter  should  descend 
on  the  Apostles." 

We  know  that  the  prayer  of  Jesus  is  always 
heard.  Therefore  the  faith  of  Peter  will  always 
be  firm.  He  was  destined  to  be  the  oracle  which 
all  were  to  consult.  Hence  we  always  find  him 
the  prominent  figure  among  the  Apostles;  the  first 
to  speak ;  the  first  to  act  on  every  occasion.  He 
was  to  be  the  guiding  star  that  was  to  lead  the 
rest  of  the  faithful  in  the  path  of  truth.  He  was 
to  be  in  the  hierarchy  of  the  Church  what  the 
sun  is  in  the  planetary  system  —  the  centre  around 
which  all  would  revolve.  And  is  it  not  a  beautiful 
spectacle,  in  harmony  with  our  ideas  of  God's  provi 
dence,  to  behold  in  His  Church  a  counterpart  of  the 
starry  system  above  us  ?  There,  every  planet  moves 
in  obedience  to  a  uniform  law,  all  of  them  regulated 
by  one  great  luminary.  So,  in  the  spiritual  order, 
we  see  every  member  of  the  Church  governed  by 
one  law,  controlled  by  one  voice,  and  that  voice  sub 
ject  to  God. 

"Feed  My  lambs;  feed  My  sheep."1  Peter  is 
appointed  by  our  Lord  the  universal  shepherd  of 

1  John  xii.  16,  17. 


INFALLIBILITY   OF  THE   POPES.  153 

His  flock  —  of  the  sheep  and  of  the  lambs,  that 
is,  frhepherd  of  the  Bishops  and  Priests  as  well 
as  of  tbe  people.  The  Bishops  are  shepherds,  in 
reference  to  their  flocks ;  they  are  sheep,  in  refer 
ence  to  the  Pope,  who  is  the  shepherd  of  shepherds. 
The  Pope,  as  shepherd,  must  feed  the  flock  not  with 
the  poison  of  error,  but  with  the  healthy  food  of 
sound  doctrine ;  for  he  is  not  a  shepherd,  but  a 
hireling,  who  administers  pernicious  food  to  his 
flock. 

Among  the  General  Councils  of  the  Church  al 
ready  held,  I  shall  mention  only  three,  as  the  acts 
of  these  Councils  are  amply  sufficient  to  vindicate 
the  unerring  character  of  the  See  of  Rome  and  the 
Roman  Pontiffs.  I  wish  also  to  call  your  attention 
to  three  facts:  1.  That  none  of  these  Councils  were 
held  in  Rome;  2.  That  one  of  them  assembled  in 
the  East,  viz.,  in  Constantinople;  and,  3.  That  in 
every  one  of  them  the  Oriental  and  the  Western 
Bishops  met' for  the  purpose  of  reunion. 

The  Eighth  General  Council,  held  in  Constanti 
nople  in  869,  contains  the  following  solemn  profes 
sion  of  faith :  "  Salvation  primarily  depends  upon 
guarding  the  rule  of  right  faith.  And  since  we 
cannot  pass  over  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  says,  '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock 
I  will  build  My  Church/  what  was  said  is  confirmed 
by  facts,  because  in  the  Apostolic  See  the  Catholic 
religion  has  always  been  preserved  immaculate,  and 
holy  doctrine  has  been  proclaimed.  Not  wishing, 


154  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

theD,  to  be  separated  from  this  faith  and  doctrine, 
we  hope  to  merit  to  be  in  the  one  communion  which 
the  Apostolic  See  preaches,  in  which  See  is  the  full 
and  true  solidity  of  the  Christian  religion." 

This  Council  clearly  declares  that  immaculate  doo- 
brine  has  always  been  preserved  and  preached  in  the 
Roman  See.  But  how  could  this  be  said  of  her,  if 
the  Roman  See  ever  fell  into  error  ?  and  how  could 
that  See  be  preserved  from  error,  if  the  Roman  Pon 
tiffs  presiding  over  it  ever  erred  in  faith  ? 

In  the  Second  General  Council  of  Lyons,  (1274,) 
the  Greek  Bishops  made  the  following  profession 
of  faith :  "  The  holy  Roman  Church  possesses  full 
primacy  and  principality  over  the  universal  Cath 
olic  Church,  which  primacy,  with  the  pleuitude  of 
power,  she  truly  and  humbly  acknowledges  to  have 
received  from  our  Lord  Himself,  in  the  person  of 
Blessed  Peter,  Prince  or  Head  of  the  Apostles, 
whose  successor  the  Roman  Pontiff  is ;  and  as  the 
Roman  See,  above  all  others,  is  bound  to  defend 
the  truth  of  faith,  so,  also,  if  any  questions  on  faith 
arise,  they  ought  to  be  defined  by  her  judgment." 

Here  the  Council  of  Lyons  avows  that  the  Roman 
Pontiffs  have  the  power  to  determine  definitely,  and 
without  appeal,  any  questions  of  faith  which  may 
arise  in  the  Church ;  in  other  words,  the  Council 
acknowledges  them  to  be  the  supreme  and  infallible 
ai  biters  of  faith. 

"  We  define,"  says  the  Council  of  Florence,  (1439,, 
at  which  also  were  present  the  Bishops  of  the  Greek 


INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE   POPES.  155 

and  the  Latin  Church,  "  we  define  that  the  Roman 
Pontiff  is  the  successor  of  the  Blessed  Peter,  Prince 
of  the  Apostles,  and  the  true  Vicar  of  Christ,  the  Head 
of  the  whole  Church,  the  Father  and  Doctor  of  all 
Christians;  and  we  declare  that  to  him,  in  the  person 
of  Blessed  Peter,  was  given,  by  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour,  full  power  to  feed,  rule,  and  govern  the 
universal  Church." 

The  Pope  is  here  called  the  true  Vicar  or  repre 
sentative  of  Christ  in  this  lower  kingdom  of  His 
Church  militant,  that  is,  the  Pope  is  the  organ  of 
our  Saviour,  and  speaks  His  sentiments  in  faith  and 
morals.  But  if  the  Pope  erred  in  faith  and  morals, 
he  would  no  longer  be  Christ's  Vicar  and  true  repre 
sentative.  Our  minister  in  England,  for  instance, 
would  not  truly  represent  our  Government,  if  he  was 
not  the  organ  of  its  sentiments.  The  Roman  Pontiff 
is  called  the  Head  of  the  whole  Church,  that  is,  the 
visible  Head.  Now  the  Church,  which  is  the  body  of 
Christ,  is  infallible.  It  is,  as  St.  Paul  says,  "  without 
spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  But  how  can 
you  suppose  an  infallible  body  with  a  fallible  head  ? 
How^can  an  erring  head  conduct  a  body  in  the  un 
erring  ways  of  truth  and  justice? 

He  is  declared  by  the  same  Council  to  be  the 
Father  and  Doctor  of  all  Christians.  How  can  you 
expect  an  unerring  family  under  an  erring  Father? 
The  Pope  is  called  the  universal  teacher  or  doctor. 
Teacher  of  what  ?  Of  truth,  not  of  error.  Error  is 
to  the  mind  what  poison  is  to  the  body.  You  do  not 


156  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

call  poison,  food ;  neither  can  you  call  error,  doc 
trine.  The  Pope,  as  universal  teacher,  must  always 
give  to  the  faithful,  not  the  poisonous  food  of  error, 
but  the  sound  aliment  of  pure  doctrine. 

In  fine,  the  Pope  is  also  styled  the  Chief  Pilot  of 
the  Church.  It  was  not  without  a  mysterious  signifi 
cance,  that  our  Lord  went  into  Peter's  bark  instead 
of  that  of  any  of  the  other  Apostles.  This  bark,  our 
Lord  has  pledged  Himself,  shall  never  sink,  nor 
depart  from  her  true  course.  How  can  you  imagine 
a  storm-proof,  never-varying  bark  under  the  charge 
of  a  fallible  Pilot? 

The  Council  of  the  Vatican  in  promulgating,  in 
1870,  the  Pope's  Infallibility,  did  not  create  a  new 
doctrine,  but  confirmed  an  old  one.  In  proclaim 
ing  this  dogma,  the  Church  enforces  as  a  law  a  princi 
ple  which  has  always  existed  as  a  matter  of  fact. 

I  may  illustrate  this  point  by  referring  again  to 
our  Supreme  Court.  When  the  Chief  Justice  decide? 
a  constitutional  question,  his  decision,  though  pre 
sented  in  a  new  shape,  cannot  be  called  a  new  doc 
trine,  because  it  is  based  on  the  letter  and  spirit  of 
the  Constitution. 

In  like  manner,  when  the  Church  issues  a  new 
dogma  of  faith,  that  decree  is  nothing  more  than  a 
new  form  of  expressing  an  old  doctrine,  because  Ihe 
decision  must  be  drawn  from  the  revealed  Word  of 
God. 

The  course  pursued  by  the  Church  regarding  the 
Infallibility  of  the  Pope,  was  practised  by  her  in 


INFALLIBILITY   OF   THE   POPES.  157 

reference  to  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  Our 
Saviour  was  acknowledged  to  be  God  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Church.  Yet  His  divinity  was  not 
formally  defined  till  the  Council  of  Nicrea  in  the 
fourth  century ;  and  it  would  not  have  been  defined 
even  then,  if  it  had  not  been  denied  by  Arius.  And 
who  will  have  the  presumption  to  say  that  the 
belief  in  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  had  its  origin  in 
the  fourth  century  ? 

The  following  has  always  been  the  practice  pre 
vailing  in  the  Church  of  God  from  the  beginning  of 
her  history.  Whenever  Bishops  or  National  Coun 
cils  promulgated  doctrines  or  condemned  errors, 
they  always  transmitted  their  decrees  to  Rome  for 
confirmation  or  rejection.  'What  Rome  approved, 
the  universal  Church  approved ;  what  Rome  con 
demned,  the  Church  condemned. 

Thus,  in  the  third  century,  Pope  St.  Stephen 
reverses  the  decision  of  St.  Cyprian  of  Carthage,  and 
of  a  Council  of  African  Bishops,  regarding  a  question 
of  baptism. 

Pope  St.  Innocent  I.,  in  the  fifth  century,  con 
demns  the  Pelagian  heresy,  in  reference  to  which  St. 
Augustine  wrote  this  memorable  sentence:  "The 
acts  of  two  Councils  were  sent  to  the  Apostolic 
See,  whence  aii  answer  was  returned;  the  question  is 
ended.  Would  to  God  that  the  error  had  also 
ceased." 

In  the  fourteenth  century,  Gregory  XI.  condemns 
the  heresy  of  Wycliffe. 
14 


158  THE  FAITH  OF  OTJR  FATHERS. 

Pope  Leo  X.,  in  the  sixteenth,  anathematizes 
Luther. 

Innocent  X.,  in  the  seventeenth,  at  the  solicitation 
of  1  he  French  Episcopate,  condemns  the  subtle  errors 
of  the  Jansenists ;  and  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
Pius  IX.  promulgates  the  doctrine  of  the  Immacu 
late  Conception. 

Here  we  find  the  Popes  in  various  ages  condemn 
ing  heresies  and  proclaiming  doctrines  of  faith;  and 
they  could  not  in  a  stronger  manner  assert  their 
infallibility  than  by  defining  doctrines  of  faith  and 
condemning  errors.  We  also  behold  the  Church  of 
Christendom  ever  saying  Amen  to  the  decisions  of 
the  Bishops  of  Rome.  Hence,  it  is  evident  that  in 
every  age  the  Church  recognized  the  Popes  as  infal 
lible  teachers. 

Every  independent  government  must  have  a  su 
preme  tribunal,  regularly  sitting  to  interpret  its 
laws,  and  to  decide  cases  of  controversy  likely  to 
arise.  Thus  we  have  in  Washington  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States. 

Now  the  Catholic  Church  is  a  complete  and  inde 
pendent  organization,  as  complete  in  its  spiritual 
sphere  as  the  United  States  Government  is  in  the 
temporal  order.  The  Church  has  its  own  laws,  its 
own  autonomy,  and  government. 

The  Church,  therefore,  like  civil  powers,  must 
have  a  permanent  and  stationary  supreme  tribunal 
to  interpret  its  laws,  and  to  determine  cases  of  re« 
ligious  controversy. 


INFALLIBILITY   OF  THE   POPES.  159 

What  constitutes  this  permanent  supreme  court 
of  the  Church  ?  Does  it  consist  of  the  Bishops  as 
sembled  in  General  Council  ?  No ;  because  this  is 
not  an  ordinary  but  an  extraordinary  tribunal, 
which  meets,  on  an  average,  only  once  in  a  hun 
dred  years. 

Is  it  composed  of  the  Bishops  scattered  throughout 
the  world  ?  By  no  means ;  because  it  would  be  im 
practicable  to  consult  all  the  Bishops  of  Christendom 
upon  every  issue  that  might  arise  in  the  Church. 
The  poison  of  error  would  easily  spread  through  the 
body  of  the  Church  before  a  decision  could  be  ren 
dered  by  the  Prelates  dispersed  throughout  the  globe. 
The  Pope,  then,  as  Head  of  the  Catholic  Church,  con 
stitutes,  with  just  reason,  this  supreme  tribunal. 

And  as  the  office  of  the  Church  is  to  guide  men 
into  all  truth,  and  to  preserve  them  from  all  error, 
it  follows  that  he  who  is  appointed  to  watch  over 
the  constitution  of  the  Church  must  be  infallible,  or 
exempt  from  error  in  his  official  capacity  as  judge  of 
faith  and  morals.  The  prerogatives  of  the  Pope  must 
be  commensurate  with  the  nature  of  the  constitution 
which  he  has  to  uphold.  The  constitution  is  divine, 
and  must  have  a  divinely-protected  interpreter. 

But  you  will  tell  me  that  infallibility  is  too  great 
a  prerogative  to  be  conferred  on  man.  I  answer : 
has  not  God,  in  former  times,  clothed  hfs  Apostles 
with  powers  fai  more  exalted  ?  They  were  endowed 
with  the  gift  of  inspiration;  they  were  the  mouth 
piece  communicating  God's  revelation,  of  which  the 


160  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Popes  are  merely  the  custodians.  If  God  could 
make  man  the  organ  of  His  revealed  Word,  is  it 
impossible  for  Him  to  make  man  its  infallible  guar 
dian  and  interpreter?  For,  surely,  greater  is  the 
Apostle  who  gives  us  the  inspired  Word  than  the 
Pope  who  preserves  it  from  error. 

If,  indeed,  our  Saviour  had  visibly  remained  among 
us,  no  interpreter  would  be  needed,  since  He  would 
explain  His  Gospel  to  us ;  but  as  he  withdrew  His 
visible  presence  from  us,  it  was  eminently  reasonable 
that  He  should  designate  some  one  to  expound  for 
us  the  meaning  of  His  Word. 

A  Protestant  Bishop,  in  the  course  of  a  sermon 
against  Papal  Infallibility,  recently  used  the  follow 
ing  language :  "  For  my  part,  I  have  an  infallible 
Bible,  and  this  is  the  only  infallibility  that  I  re 
quire."  This  assertion,  though  plausible  at  first 
sight,  cannot  for  a  moment  stand  the  test  of  sound 
criticism. 

Let  us  see,  sir,  whether  an  infallible  Bible  is  suf 
ficient  for  you.  Either  you  are  infallibly  certain 
that  your  interpretation  of  the  Bible  is  correct,  or 
you  are  not. 

If  you  are  infallibly  certain,  then  you  assert  for 
yourself,  and  of  course  for  every  reader  of  the  Scrip 
ture,  a  personal  infallibility  which  you  deny  to  the 
Pope,  and  which  we  claim  only  for  him.  You  make 
every  man  his  own  Pope. 

If  you  are  not  infallibly  certain  that  you  under- 
Btand  the  true  meaning  of  the  whole  Bible,  —  and 


INFALLIBILITY   OF  THE   POPES.  161 

this  is  a  privilege  you  do  not  claim,  —  then,  I  ask, 
of  what  use  to  you  is  the  objective  Infallibility  of 
the  Bible,  without  an  infallible  interpreter? 

If  God,  as  you  assert,  has  left  no  infallible  inter 
preter  of  His  Word,  do  you  not  virtually  accuse  Him 
of  acting  unreasonably?  for  would  it  not  be  most 
unreasonable  in  Him  to  have  revealed  His  truth 
to  man  without  leaving  him  a  means  of  ascertaining 
its  precise  import  ? 

Do  you  not  reduce  God's  word  to  a  bundle  of  con 
tradictions,  like  the  leaves  of  the  Sybil,  which  gave 
forth  answers  suited  to  the  wishes  of  every  inquirer? 

Of  the  hundred  and  more  Christian  sects  now 
existing  in  this  country,  does  not  each  take  the 
Bible  as  its  standard  of  authority,  and  does  not 
each  member  draw  from  it  a  meaning  different  from 
that  of  his  neighbor?  While  in  the  mind  of  God 
the  Scriptures  can  have  but  one  meaning.  And  is 
not  this  variety  of  interpretations  the  bitter  fruit  of 
your  principle :  "  An  infallible  Bible  is  enough  for 
me?  "  and  does  it  not  proclaim  the  absolute  necessity 
of  some  authorized  and  unerring  interpreter  ?  You 
tell  me  to  drink  of  the  water  of  life  ;  but  of  what  use 
is  this  water  to  my  parched  lips,  since  you  acknowl 
edge  that  it  may  be  poisoned  in  passing  through  the 
medium  of  your  interpretation? 

How  satisfactory,  on  the  contrary,  and  how  rea 
sonable,  is  the  Catholic  teaching  on  this  subject  ? 

According  to  her  system,  Christ  says  to  every 
Christian :  Here,  my  child,  is  the  Word  of  God ;  and 
14*  L 


162  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

with  it  I  leave  you  an  infallible  interpreter,  who 
will  expound  for  you  its  hidden  meaning,  and  will 
make  clear  all  its  difficulties. 

Here  are  the  waters  of  eternal  life,  but  I  have 
created  a  channel  that  will  communicate  these 
waters  to  you  in  all  their  sweetness,  without  any 
sediment  of  error. 

Here  is  the  written  Constitution  of  My  Church. 
But  I  have  appointed  over  it  a  supreme  Tribunal, 
in  the  person  of  one  "  to  whom  I  have  given  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  who  will  preserve 
that  Constitution  inviolate,  and  will  not  permit  it  to 
be  torn  into  shreds  by  the  conflicting  opinions  of 
men.  And  thus  my  children  will  be  one,  as  I  and 
the  Father  are  one. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPES  —  HOW  THEY 
ACQUIRED  TEMPORAL  POWER  —  VALIDITY  AND 
JUSTICE  OF  THEIR  TITLE  —  WHAT  THE  POPES 
HAVE  DONE  FOR  ROME. 

I. 

HOW   THE  POPES  ACQUIRED  TEMPORAL  POWER. 

FOR  the  clearer  understanding  of  the  origin  and 
gradual  growth  of  the  Temporal  Power  of  the 
Popes,  we  may  divide   the   history  of  the  Church 
into  three  great  epochs. 


TEMPORAL   POWER  OF  THE  POPES.  163 

The  first  embraces  the  period  which  elapsed  from 
the  establishment  of  the  Church  to  the  days  of  Con- 
gtantine  the  Great,  in  the  fourth  century  ;  the  second, 
from  Constantine  to  Charlemagne,  who  was  cro\Mied 
emperor  in  the  year  800;  the  third,  from  Charle 
magne  to  the  present  time. 

When  St.  Peter,  the  first  Pope  in  the  long,  un 
broken  line  of  Sovereign  Pontiffs,  entered  Italy  and 
Rome,  he  did  not  possess  a  foot  of  ground  which  he 
could  call  his  own.  He  could  say  with  his  divine 
Master  :  "  The  foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the 
air  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  whereon  to 
lay  His  head." l  The  Apostle  died  as  he  had  lived, 
a  poor  man,  having  nothing  at  his  death  save  the 
affections  of  a  grateful  people. 

But  although  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  owned 
nothing  that  he  could  call  his  personal  property,  he 
received  from  the  faithful  large  donations  to  be  dis 
tributed  among  the  needy.  For,  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  we  are  told  that "  neither  was  any  one  among 
them  (the  faithful)  needy;  for  as  many  as  were 
owners  of  lands  or  houses,  sold  them,  and  brought 
the  prices  of  the  things  which  they  sold  and  laid 
them  before  the  feet  of  the  Apostles,  and  distribu 
tion  was  made  to  every  one  according  as  he  had 
need." 2  Such  was  the  filial  attachment  of  the  early 
Christians  towards  the  Pontiffs  of  the  Church  ;  such 
was  the  confidence  reposed  in  their  personal  integ« 

1  Matt,  viii  20.  a  Acts  iv.  34,  36. 


16  i  THE  FAITH  OP  OUR  FATHERS. 

rity,  and  in  their  discretion  in  dispensing  the  charity 
of  the  faithful. 

During  the  first  three  hundred  years,  the  Pastors 
of  the  Church  were  generally  incapable  of  holding 
real  estate  in  Rome;  for,  Christianity  was  yet  a  pro 
scribed  religion,  and  the  faithful  were  exposed  to 
the  most  violent  and  unrelenting  persecutions  that 
have  ever  darkened  the  annals  of  history. 

The  Christians  of  Rome  worshipped  for  the  most 
part  in  the  catacombs.  These  catacombs  are  sub 
terranean  chambers  and  passages  under  the  city  of 
Rome.  They  extend  for  miles  in  different  directions, 
and  are  visited  to  this  day  by  thousands  of  strangers. 
Here  the  primitive  Christians  prayed  together ;  here 
they  encouraged  one  another  to  martyrdom ;  here 
they  died  and  were  buried.  So  that  these  caverns 
served  at  the  same  time  as  temples  of  worship  for 
the  living,  and  as  tombs  for  the  dead. 

At  last,  Constantine  the  Great  brought  peace  to 
the  Church.  The  long  night  of  Pagan  persecution 
was  succeeded  by  the  bright  dawn  of  religious 
liberty ;  and  as  our  Blessed  Saviour  rose  triumph 
ant  from  the  grave,  after  having  lain  there  for  three 
days,  so  did  our  early  brethren  in  the  faith  emerge 
from  the  tombs  of  the  catacombs,  after  haviuw  beea 
buried,  as  it  were,  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for 
three  centuries. 

Coustantiue  gave  to  the  Roman  Church  munifi 
cent  donations  of  money  and  real  estate,  which  were 
augmented  by  additional  grants  contributed  by 


TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPES.  165 

subsequent  Emperors.  Hence  the  patrimony  of 
the  Roman  Pontiffs  soon  became  very  considerable. 
And  Voltaire  himself  tells  us  that  the  wealth  which 
the  Popes  acquired  was  spent  not  in  satisfying  their 
own  avarice  and  ambition,  but  in  the  most  laudable 
works  of  charity  and  religion.  They  expended  their 
patrimony,  he  says,  in  sending  Missionaries  to  evan 
gelize  Pagan  Europe,  in  giving  hospitality  to  exiled 
Bishops  at  Rome,  and  in  feeding  the  poor.  And  I 
may  here  add  that  succeeding  Popes  have  gener 
ously  imitated  the  munificence  of  the  early  Pontiffs. 
An  event  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Constantine 
which  paved  the  way  for  the  partial  jurisdiction 
which  the  Roman  Pontiffs  commenced  to  enjoy  over 
Rome,  and  which  they  continued  to  exercise,  till 
they  obtained  full  sovereignty  in  the  days  of  King 
Pepin  of  France. 

In  the  year  327,  the  Emperor  Constantine  trans 
ferred  the  seat  of  empire  from  Rome  to  Constanti 
nople,  the  present  capital  of  Turkey.  The  city  was 
named  after  Constantine,  who  founded  it.  A  subse 
quent  Emperor  appointed  a  Governor  or  Exarch  to 
rule  Italy,  who  resided  in  the  city  of  Ravenna.  This 
new  system,  as  is  manifest,  did  not  work  well.  The 
Emperor  of  Constantinople  referred  all  matters  to 
his  deputy  in  Ravenna,  and  the  deputy  was  more 
anxious  to  conciliate  the  Emperor  than  to  satisfy 
the  people  of  Rome.  Italy  and  Rome  were  then 
in  a  political  condition  analogous  to  that  in  which 
the  Irish  have  been  placed  for  several  centuries 


166  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

past.  Ireland  is  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction 
of  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  is  responsible  only 
to  the  home  government,  and  who  is  never  accused, 
among  his  other  weaknesses,  of  having  an  excessive 
fondness  for  Ireland. 

Abandoned  to  itself,  Rome  became  a  tempting  prey 
to  those  numerous  hordes  of  barbarians  from  the 
Korth  that  then  devastated  Italy.  The  city  was  suc 
cessively  attacked  by  the  Goths  under  Alaric,  and  by 
the  Vandals  under  Genseric,  and  was  threatened  by 
the  Huns  under  Attila.  Unable  to  obtain  assistance 
from  the  Emperor  in  the  East,  or  the  Governor  at 
Ravenna,  the  citizens  of  Home  looked  up  to  the  Popes 
as  their  only  Governors  and  protectors,  and  their 
only  salvation  in  the  dangers  which  threatened  them. 
The  confidence  which  they  reposed  in  the  Pontiffs 
was  not  misplaced.  The  Popes  were  not  only  de 
voted  spiritual  Fathers,  but  firm  and  valiant  civil 
Governors.  When  Attila,  who  was  surnamed  "  the 
Scourge  of  God,"  approached  the  city  with  an  army 
of  500,000  men,  Pope  Leo  the  Great  went  out  to 
meet  him  without  any  troops  at  his  back,  but  by  his 
mild  eloquence  he  disarmed  the  indomitable  chief 
tain,  and  induced  him  to  retrace  his  steps.  Thus 
he  saved  the  city  from  pillage  and  the  people  from 
destruction.  The  same  Pope  Leo  also  confronted 
Genseric,  the  leader  of  the  Vandals ;  and  although 
he  could  not  this  time  protect  Home  from  the  plun 
der  of  the  soldiers,  he  saved  the  lives  of  the  citizens 
from  slaughter.  Such  acts  as  these  were  naturally 


TEMPORAL   POWER   OF   THE  POPES.  167 

calculated  to  bind  the  Roman  people  more  strongly 
to  the  Popes,  and  to  alienate  them  from  those  who 
were  their  nominal  rulers. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century,  Leo 
Isauricus,  one  of  the  successors  of  Constantine  in  the 
imperial  throne,  not  content  with  his  civil  authority, 
endeavored,  like  Henry  VIII.,  to  usurp  spiritual 
jurisdiction,  LXid,  like  the  same  English  monarch, 
sought  to  rob  the  people  of  their  time-honored  sacred 
traditions.  A  civil  ruler  dabbling  in  religion  is  as 
reprehensible  as  a  clergyman  dabbling  in  politics. 
Both  render  themselves  odious  as  well  as  ridiculous. 
The  Emperor  commanded  all  paintings  of  our 
Saviour  and  His  saints  to  be  removed  from  the 
churches  on  the  assumption  that  such  an  exhibition 
was  an  act  of  idolatry.  Pope  Gregory  II.  wrote  to 
the  Emperor  an  energetic  remonstrance,  reminding 
him  that  "  dogmas  of  faith  are  to  be  interpreted  by 
the  Pontiffs  of  the  Church  and  not  by  emperors," 
and  begging  him  to  spare  the  sacred  paintings.  But 
the  Pope's  remonstrance  and  entreaties  were  in  vain. 
This  conduct  of  the  Emperor  tended  to  widen  still 
more  the  breach  between  himself  and  the  Roman 
people. 

Soon  after,  an  event  occurred  which  abolished 
forever  the  authority  of  the  Byzantine  Emperors  in 
Italy,  and  established  on  a  sure  and  lasting  basis  the 
temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Popes. 

In  754,  Astolphus,  King  of  the  Lombards,  invaded 
Italy,  capturing  some  Italian  cities,  and  threatening 
to  advance  on  Rome. 


168  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

Pope  Stephen  III.,1  who  then  ruled  the  Church, 
sent  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  Emperor  Constantino 
Copronymus,  successor  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  implor 
ing  him  to  come  to  the  relief  of  Rome  and  his  Ital 
ian  provinces.  The  Emperor  manifested  his  usual 
apathy  and  indifference,  and  received  the  message 
with  coldness  and  neglect. 

In  this  emergency,  Stephen,  who  sees  that  no  time 
is  to  be  lost,  crosses  the  Alps  in  person,  approaches 
Pepin,  King  of  France,  and  begs  that  powerful 
monarch  to  protect  the  Italian  people,  who  were 
utterly  abandoned  by  those  that  ought  to  be  their 
defenders.  The  pious  King,  after  paying  his  homage 
to  the  Pope,  sets  out  for  Italy  with  his  army,  defeats 
the  invading  Lombards,  and  places  the  Pope  at  the 
head  of  the  conquered  provinces. 

Charlemagne,  the  successor  of  Pepin,  not  only 
confirms  the  grant  of  his  father,  but  increases  the 
temporal  domain  of  the  Pope  by  donating  him  some 
additional  provinces. 

This  small  piece  of  territory  the  Roman  Pontiffs 
continued  to  govern  from  that  time  till  1870,  with 
the  exception  of  brief  intervals  of  foreign  usurpation. 
And  certainly,  if  ever  any  Prince  merited  the  appel 
lation  of  legitimate  sovereign,  that  title  is  eminently 
deserved  by  the  Bishops  of  Rome. 

1  Sometimes  called  Stephen  II.,  as  Stephen,  his  predecessor, 
died  three  days  after  his  election,  whose  name  is  omitted  in 
some  calendars. 


TEMPORAL  POWER  OI    THE  POPES.  169 

II. 

THE  VALIDITY   AND   JUSTICE   OF   THEIR  TITLE. 

There  are  three  titles  which  render  the  tenure 
of  a  Prince  honest  and  incontestable,  viz.,  long  pos 
session,  legitimate  acquisition,  and  a  just  use  of  the 
original  grant  confided  to  him.  The  Bishop  of  Rome 
possessed  his  temporality  by  all  these  titles. 

1.  The  temporal  dominion  of  the  Pope  is  most 
ancient  in   point  of  time.     He  commenced,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  enjoy  full  sovereignty  about  the  mid 
dle  of  the  eighth   century.     The  Pope  was,  conse 
quently,  a   temporal    ruler  for   upwards  of    1,100 
years.     The  Papal   dynasty  is  therefore  the  oldest 
in  Europe,  and  probably  in  the  world.     The  Pope 
was  the  temporal  ruler  of  Rome  four  hundred  years 
before  England  subjugated  Ireland,  and  seven  hun 
dred  years  before  the  first  European  pressed  his  foot 
on  the  American  continent. 

2.  His  civil  authority  was  established  not  by  the 
sword  of  conquest  nor  the  violence  of  usurpation. 
He  did  not  mount  the  throne  upon  the  ruins  of  out 
raged  liberties  or  violated  treaties ;  but  he  was  called 
to  rule  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  a  grateful  people. 
Always  the  devoted  spiritual  Father  of  Rome,  he 
providentially  became  its  civil  defender;  and  the 
temporal  power  he  had  possessed  already  by  pop 
ular  suffrage,  was  ratified  and  sanctioned   by  the 
sovereign  act  of  the  French  monarch.     In  a  word, 
the  ship  of  state  was  threatened  with  being  engulfed 

15 


170  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

1  Beneath  the  fierce  waves  of  foreign  invasion.  The 
Captain,  meantime,  folded  his  arms,  and  abandoned 
the  ship  to  her  fate ;  and  in  the  emergency  the  Pope 
was  called  to  the  helm,  and  saved  the  vessel  from 
shipwreck  and  the  people  from  destruction.  Hence, 
even  the  infidel  Gibbon  was  forced  to  use  the  follow 
ing  language  in  discussing  this  subject :  "  Their  (the 
Popes')  temporal  dominion  is  now  confirmed  by  the 
reverence  of  a  thousand  years,  and  their  noblest  title 
b  the  free  choice  of  a  people  whom  they  had  re 
deemed  from  slavery." 

3.  What  is  the  use  or  advantage  of  the  tem 
poral  power?  This  is  well  worth  considering,  as 
many  persons  have  erroneous  notions  on  this  sub 
ject. 

The  object  is  not  to  aggrandize  or  enrich  the  Pope. 
He  ascends  the  Papal  chair  generally  an  old  man, 
when  human  passion  and  human  ambition,  if  any 
did  exist,  are  on  the  wane.  His  personal  expenses 
do  not  exceed  a  few  dollars  a  day.  He  eats  alone 
and  very  abstemiously.  He  has  no  wife  or  children 
to  enrich  with  the  spoils  of  office,  as  he  is  an  unmar 
ried  man.  The  Popedom  is  not  hereditary,  like  the 
sovereignty  of  England,  but  elective,  like  the  office 
of  our  President,  and  he  is  succeeded  by  a  Pontiff 
to  whom  he  is  bound  by  no  family  ties.  What  per 
sonal  motive,  therefore,  can  he  have  in  desiring  tem 
poral  sovereignty?  I  am  sure,  indeed,  that  if  the 
Holy  Father  were  to  consult  his  own  taste  and  feel 
ings,  he  would  much  rather  be  free  from  the  tram- 


TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE   POPES.  171 

mels  of  civil  government.  But  he  has  higher 
interests  to  subserve.  He  must  vindicate  the  eter 
nal  laws  of  justice,  which  have  been  violated  in 
his  own  person. 

As  the  Popes  were  not  actuated  by  a  love  of  gain 
in  possessing  temporal  dominion,  neither  had  they 
any  desire  to  enlarge  their  territory,  small  as  it  had 
been.  The  Temporalities  of  the  Pope  were  not  much 
larger  than  the  State  of  Maryland,  before  he  was 
deprived  of  them  by  Victor  Emmanuel  a  few  yeara 
ago. 

And  this  is  the  little  slice  of  land  which  Victor 
Emmanuel  wrested  from  the  Holy  Father.  This  is 
the  vineyard  which  the  modern  King  Achab  wrung 
from  the  unoffending  Naboth.  But  the  Pontiff  an 
swers,  like  Naboth  of  old:  "The  Lord  be  merciful 
to  me,  and  not  let  me  give  thee  the  inheritance  of 
my  fathers." l 

This  is  the  little  ewe-lamb  which  the  modern 
David  has  snatched  from  its  legitimate  owner, 
Uriah.  The  royal  shepherd  of  Piedmont  had  al 
ready  seized  all  the  other  lambs  and  sheep  of  his 
neighbors ;  but  he  was  not  satisfied  till  he  added 
to  his  fold  the  solitary,  tender  lamb  of  the  Pope. 
Let  him  take  care,  however,  that  the  prophecy 
denounced  by  Nathan  against  David  fall  not  upon 
himself  and  his  posterity :  "  Why,  therefore,  hast 
thou  despised  the  word  of  the  Lord,  to  do  evil  in 

1  IIT.  Kings  xii.  3. 


172  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

My  sight  ?  Therefore  the  sword  shall  never  depart 
from  thy  house,  because  thou  hast  despised  Me. 
Behold,  I  will  raise  up  evil  against  thee  out  of 
thy  own  house."  J 

While  the  patrimony  of  the  Pope  was  large 
enough  to  secure  his  independence,  it  was  too 
small  to  provoke  the  fear  and  jealousy  of  foreign 
powers.  The  authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs  in 
the  Middle  Ages  was  almost  unbounded.  Had  they 
wished  then,  they  could  easily  have  increased  their 
territory ;  yet  they  were  content  with  what  Provi 
dence  placed  originally  in  their  hands.2 

The  sole  end  of  the  temporal  power  has  been  to 
secure  for  the  Pbpe  independence  nnd  freedom  in 
the  government  of  the  Church.  The  Holy  Father 
must  be  either  a  Sovereign  or  a  subject.  There  i* 
no  medium.  If  a  subject,  he  might  become  either 
the  pliant  creature  if  God  would  so  permit,  of  his 

1 II.  Kings  xii. 

2 1  dare  say  you  could  have  found,  a  few  years  since,  some 
persons  m  the  United  States  who  entertained  a  holy  fear  lest 
the  Pope  should  one  morning  land  upon  our  shores,  and  take 
forcihle  possession  of  our  country.  A  venerable  clergyman 
once  informed  me  that  when  he  went  to  pay  his  respects  to 
President  Pierce,  who  then  occupied  the  White  House,  his 
Excellency  remarked  to  him :  "  I  had  a  visit  from  a  nervous 
gentleman,  who  asked  me  whether  I  was  making  any  prepa 
rations  to  resist  the  approach  of  the  Pope.  I  replied  that  so 
far  I  had  taken  no  steps,  but  that  no  doubt  I  would  be  pre 
pared  to  meet  the  enemy  when  he  arrived.  The  man  retired 
more  composed,  but  not  fully  satisfied," 


TEMPORAL   POWEE   OF   THE   POPES.  ITS 

royal  master,  like  the  schismatic  Patriarch  of  Con* 
Btantinople,  who,  as  Gibbon  observed,  was  "  a  do 
mestic  slave  under  the  eye  of  his  master,  at  whose 
nod  he  passed  from  the  convent  to  the  throne,  and 
from  the  throne  to  the  convent."  And  indeed  the 
Oriental  Schismatic  Bishops  are  as  subservient  now 
as  they  were  then  to  their  temporal  rulers.  Or, 
what  is  far  more  probable,  the  Pope  might  become 
a  virtual  prisoner  in  his  own  house,  as  the  present 
illustrious  Pontiif  is  at  this  moment. 

The  Pope  is  the  Representative  of  Christ  on 
earth.  His  office  requires  him  to  be  in  constant 
communication  with  Prelates  in  every  country  in 
the  world.  Should  the  kingdom  of  Italy  be  em 
broiled  in  a  war  with  any  European  Power,  with 
Germany,  for  instance,  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  for  the  Holy  Father  and  the  German 
Bishops  to  confer  with  each  other,  and  religion 
would  suffer  from  the  interruption  of  intercourse 
between  the  Head  and  the  members. 

The  interests  of  Christianity  demand  that  the 
Vicar  of  the  Prince  of  peace  should  possess  one  spot 
of  territory  which  would  be  held  inviolable,  so  that 
&11  nations  and  peoples  could  at  all  times,  in  war 
PS  well  as  in  peace,  freelyN  correspond  with  him. 
While  nothing  can  be  more  revolting  to  our  feelings 
than  that  the  spiritual  government  of  the  Church 
should  be  constantly  hampered  by  the  hostile  aggres 
sions  of  ambitious  rulers,  an  eventuality  always 

15* 


174  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

likely  to  occur  so  long  as  the  Pope  remains  the  sub 
ject  of  any  earthly  potentate.1 

But  we  are  told  that  the  Roman  people,  by  a 
plebiscitum,  or  popular  vote,  expressed  their  desire 
to  be  annexed  to  the  Piedraontese  Government.  To 
this  I  answer,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  ought  to 
know  what  importance  to  attach  to  elections  held 
under  the  shadow  of  the  bayonet.  And  it  is 
well  known  that  the  Roman  plebiscitum  was  under 
taken  by  the  authority,  and  guided  by  the  inspira 
tion,  of  the  Italian  troops.  It  is  equally  notori 
ous  that  the  numerous  stragglers  who  accom 
panied  the  Italian  army  to  Rome,  legalized  the 
gigantic  fraud  of  their  master,  as  well  as  their  own 
petty  thefts,  by  voting  in  favor  of  annexation. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Roman  people,  even  had 

1  Some  of  the  evils  that  were  predicted  to  follow  from  the 
occupation  of  Rome  by  a  foreign  power  have  been  too 
speedily  realized.  Already  several  convents  and  other 
ecclesiastical  institutions  have  been  seized  and  sold,  aad 
their  inmates  sent  adrift.  A  number  of  colleges  founded 
and  endowed  by  the  piety  of  foreign  Catholics  have  been 
confiscated.  Public  religious  processions  through  the  streets 
of  Rome  have  been  prohibited  ;  and  these  and  other  out 
rages  are  perpetrated  by  a  government  which  solemnly 
pledged  itself  to  maintain  inviolate  the  sovereign  rights  of 
the  Holy  Father  when  it  took  forcible  possession  of  his  city 
in  1870.  From  the  events  that  have  already  transpired,  we 
will  not  be  surprised  to  see  the  Pope  still  more  seriously 
hampered  by  a  monarch  who  has  unscrupulously  violated 
bis  former  guarantees. 


^EMPORAL   POWER   OF  THE   POPES.  175 

they  so  desired,  had  no  right  to  transfer,  by  their 
suffrage,  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter  to  Victor  Em 
manuel.  They  could  not  give  what  did  not  belong 
to  them.  The  Papal  territory  was  granted  to  the 
Popes  in  trust,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Church, 
that  is,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Catholics  of 
Christendom.  And  therefore  the  Catholic  world, 
and  not  merely  a  handful  of  Roman  subjects,  must 
give  its  consent  before  such  a  transfer  can  be  de 
clared  legitimate.  Home  is  to  Catholic  Christendom 
what  Washington  is  to  the  United  States.  As  the 
citizens  of  Washington  have  no  power,  without  the 
concurrence  of  the  United  States,  to  annex  their 
city  to  Maryland  or  Virginia,  neither  can  the  citizens 
of  Rome  hand  over  their  city  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Piedmont  without  the  acquiescence  of  the  faithful 
dispersed  throughout  the  world. 

Therefore  we  protest  against  the  occupation  of 
Rome  by  foreign  troops  as  a  high-handed  act  of  in 
justice,  and  a  gross  violation  of  the  Commandment 
which  says  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal." 

We  protest  against  it  as  a  royal  outrage,  calculated 
to  shock  the  public  sense  of  honesty,  and  to  weaken 
the  sacred  right  of  public  and  private  property. 

We  protest  against  it  as  an  unjustifiable  violation 
of  solemn  treaties. 

We  protest,  in  fine,  against  the  spoliation  as  an 
impious  sacrilege,  because  it  is  an  unholy  seizure 
of  ecclesiastical  property,  and  an  attempt,  as  far  as 
human  agencies  can  accomplish  it,  to  trammel  and 
embarrass  the  free  action  of  the  Head  of  the  Church. 


176  THE  FAITH  OF  OTTR  FATHERS. 

III. 

WHAT   THE   POPES   HAVE   DONE   FOR   ROME. 

Although  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  is  a 
subject  which  concerns  the  universal  Church,  there 
is  no  people  who  have  more  reason  to  lament  the 
loss  of  the  Holy  Father's  Temporalities  than  the 
Italians  themselves,  and  particularly  the  inhabitants 
of  Rome. 

It  is  the  residence  of  the  Popes  in  Rome  that 
has  contributed  to  her  material  and  religious  gran 
deur.  The  Pontiffs  have  made  her  the  Centre  of 
Christendom,  the  Queen  of  religion,  the  Mistress  of 
arts  and  sciences,  the  Depository  of  sacred  learning 

By  their  creative  and  conservative  spirit,  they 
have  saved  the  illustrious  monuments  of  the  past; 
and  side  by  side  with  these  they  have  raised  up 
Christian  temples  which  surpass  those  of  Pagan  an 
tiquity.  In  looking,  to-day,  at  these  old  Roman 
monuments,  we  know  not  which  to  admire  more,  the 
genius  of  those  who  designed  and  erected  them,  or 
the  fostering  care  of  the  Popes  who  have  preserved 
from  destruction  the  venerable  ruins.  The  residence 
of  the  Popes  in  Rome  has  made  her  what  she  is  truly 
called,  the  Eternal  city. 

Let  the  Popes  leave  Rome  forever,  and  in  five 
years  grass  will  be  growing  on  its  streets. 

Such  was  the  case  at  the  return  of  the  Pope  in 
1418  from  Avignon,  which  had  been  the  seat  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiffs  during  the  preceding  century. 
On  the  Pope's  return,  the  city  of  Rome  had  a  popu- 


TEMPORAL   POWER   OF   THE   POPES  177 

lation  of  only  17,000.1  And  Avignon,  which,  dur 
ing  the  residence  there  of  the  Popes  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  contained  a  population  of  100,000,  has  now 
a  population  of  only  36,407  inhabitants.  And  such, 
also,  was  the  case  in  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  when  Pius  VII.  was  an  exile  for  four  years 
from  Rome,  and  a  prisoner  of  the  first  Napoleon,  in 
Grenoble,  Savona,  and  Fontainebleau.  Grass  then 
grew  on  the  streets  of  Rome,  and  the  city  lost  one- 
half  of  its  population. 

Rome  has  naturally  no  commercial  attractions. 
It  is  only  the  presence  of  the  Pope  that  keeps  up 
her  trade.  Let  the  Popes  abandon  Rome,  and  her 
churches  will  soon  be  without  worshippers;  her 
artists  without  employment.  Her  glorious  monu 
ments  will  perish.  Science  and  art  and  sacred 
literature  will  take  their  flight  and  perch  upon  some 
more  favored  spot.  The  hundred  thousand  strangers 
that  annually  flock  to  Rome  from  different  parts  of 
the  world,  will  shake  off  the  dust  from  their  feet 
and  seek  more  congenial  cities. 

Let  the  Popes  withdraw  from  Rome,  and  it  may 
become  almost  as  desolate  as  Jerusalem  aud  Antioch 
are  to-day. 

Peter  preached  his  first  sermons  in  Jerusalem,  but 
he  did  not  select  it  as  his  See ;  and  Jerusalem  is  to 
day  a  Mahometan  city,  with  its  sacred  places  pro 
faned  by  the  foot  of  the  Mussulman. 

1  Memoir  of  Pope  Sixtus  V.,  by  Baron  Hiibner,  Vol.  II, 
ch.i.  M 


178  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHEBR. 

Peter  occupied  for  a  time  the  city  of  Antioch  as 
his  first  See.  But  iu  the  mysterious  providence 
'  of  God,  he  abandoned  Antioch  and  repaired  to 
Rome.  And  now  Antioch  is  a  deserted  village 
with  scarcely  a  stone  left  upon  a  stone,  or  a  single 
monument  standing  to  commemorate  her  former 
greatness. 

Had  the  Popes  remained  in  Antioch,  the  conti 
nent  of  Asia,  the  greater  part  of  which  lies  buried 
in  idolatry,  would  now  very  probably  be,  instead  of 
Europe,  the  centre  of  Christianity  and  civilization  ; 
the  immortal  Dome  of  St.  Peter's  would  doubtless 
overshadow  the  banks  of  the  Orontes  instead  of  the 
Tiber ;  and  Antioch,  instead  of  Rome,  would  be  the 
focus  of  the  arts  and  sciences  and  of  sacred  litera 
ture,  and  would  be  called  to-day  the  Eternal  city. 

Our  present1  beloved  Pontiff,  Pius  IX.,  I  need  not 
inform  you,  is  now  treated  with  indignity  in  his  own 
city.  In  his  declining  years,  as  well  as  in  the  early 
days  of  his  Pontificate,  he  is  made  to  drink  deep 
of  the  chalice  of  affliction.  His  name  is  dear  to  us 
all.  To  many  of  us  it  is  a  name  familiar  from  our 
youth ;  for,  thirty-one  years  have  now  elapsed  since 
he  first  assumed  the  reins  of  government ;  and  it  is 
a  noteworthy  fact  that,  since  the  days  of  Peter,  no 
Pope  has  ever  reigned  so  long  as  Pius  IX. 

The  Pope  in  every  age,  like  his  divine  Master, 
has  his  period  of  persecution  and  his  period  of  peace. 

1  When  these  lines  were  written,  Pius  IX.  was  the  reign 
ing  Pontiff.  He  died  February  7,  1878. 


TEMPORAL   POWER  OF  THE   POPES.  179 

Like  Him,  he  has  his  days  of  sorrow  and  his  days 
of  joy ;  his  days  of  humiliation  and  death,  and  his 
days  of  exaltation  and  glory.  Like  Jesus  Christ,  he 
is  one  day  greeted  with  acclamations  as  king,  and 
another  day  crucified  by  his  enemies. 

But  never  does  the  Holy  Father  exhibit  his  title 
as  Vicar  of  Christ  more  strikingly  than  in  the  midst 
of  tribulations ;  for  if  he  did  not  suffer,  he  would 
bear  no  resemblance  to  his  divine  Model  and 
Master ;  and  never  does  he  more  worthily  deserve 
the  filial  homage  of  his  children  than  when  he  is 
heavily  laden  with  the  cross. 

I  envy  neither  the  heart  nor  the  head  of  those 
men  who  are  now  gloating,  with  fiendish  joy,  over 
the  calamities  of  the  Pope;  who  are  heaping  insults 
and  calumnies  on  his  venerable  head,  while  he  is 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,1  and  who  are  confidently 

1  Some  time  ago,  my  attention  was  called  to  a  certain  ex 
communication  or  "curse,"  then  widely  circulated  by  the 
press  of  North  Carolina.  The  "  curse"  is  attributed  to  the 
Holy  Father,  and  is  fulminated  against  Victor  Emmanuel. 
In  this  anathema,  cursing  and  damning  are  heaped  up  in  wild 
confusion.  When  this  base  forgery  appeared,  an  article  ex 
posing  the  falsehood  of  the  production  was  published.  We 
fear,  however,  that  many  read  the  slanderous  charge  who 
did  not  read  its  refutation. 

As  to  this  "curse"  against  Victor  Emmanuel  so  calumni- 
ously  attributed  to  the  Pope,  I  state  here  distinctly  and  posi 
tively  that  its  author  is  not  Pius  IX.,  nor  any  other  Roman 
Pontiff,  nor  any  Catholic  Priest  or  layman.  It  is  to  the 
Eev.  Laurence  Sterne,  Minister  of  the  Established  Church 


180  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

predicting  the  downfall  of  the  Papacy,  from  the 
present  situation  of  the  Head  of  the  Church,  as  if 
the  temporary  privation  of  his  dominions  involved 
their  loss  irrevocably  ;  or,  as  if  even  the  perpetual 
destruction  of  the  temporal  power  involved  the 
destruction  of  the  spiritual  supremacy  itself.  "  The 
Papacy,"  they  say,  "  is  gone.  Its  glory  is  vanished. 
Its  sun  is  set.  It  is  sunk  below  the  horizon,  never 
to  rise  again."  Ill-boding  prophets,  will  you  never 
profit  by  the  lessons  of  history  ?  Have  not  numbers 
of  Popes  before  Pius  IX.  been  forcibly  ejected  from 
their  Sees,  and  have  they  not  been  reinstated  in 
their  temporal  authority?  What  has  happened  so 
often  before,  may  and  will  happen  again. 

For  our  part,  we  have  every  confidence  that  ere 
long  the  clouds  which  now  overshadow  the  civil  throne 
of  the  Pope  will  be  removed  by  the  breath  of  a  right 
eous  God,  and  that  his  temporal  power  will  be  re 
established  on  a  more  permanent  basis  than  ever. 

But  whatever  be  the  fate  of  the  Pope's  Temporal 
ities,  we  have  no  fears  for  the  spiritual  throne  of  the 
Papacy.  The  Pontiffs  have  received  their  earth 
ly  dominion  from  man,  and  what  man  gives  man 
may  take  away.  But  the  spiritual  supremacy  the 
Bishops  of  Rome  have  from  God,  and  no  man  can 
destroy  it.  That  divine  charter  of  their  preroga* 


of  England,  and  to  his  romance  of  "Tristram  Shandy,"  that 
the  English-speaking  world  is  indebted  for  this  infamous 
compilation. 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  181 

tives, "  Thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it,"  *  will  ever  shine  forth  as  brightly  as  the 
sun,  and  it  is  as  far  as  the  sun  above  the  reach  of 
human  aggression. 

The  Holy  Father  may  live  and  die  in  the  cata 
combs,  as  the  early  Pontiffs  did  for  the  first  three 
centuries.  He  may  be  dragged  from  his  See  and 
perish  in  exile,  like  the  Martins,  the  Gregories,  and 
the  Piuses.  He  may  wander  a  penniless  pilgrim, 
like  Peter  himself.  Rome  itself  may  sink  beneath 
the  Mediterranean;  still,  the  chair  of  Peter  will 
stand,  and  Peter  will  live  in  his  successors. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   INVOCATION   OF   SAINTS. 

/CHRISTIANS  of  most  denominations  are  accus- 
V  tomed  to  recite  the  following  article  contained 
in  the  Apostles'  Creed:  "  I  believe  in  the  communion 
of  saints."  There  are  many,  I  fear,  however,  who 
have  these  words  frequently  on  their  lips,  without 
the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  precious  meaning 
which  they  convey. 

The  true  and  obvious  sense  of  the  words  quoted 
from  the  Creed  is,  that  between  the  children  of  God, 


1  Matt.  xvi.  18. 
16 


182  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

whether  reigning  in  heaven  or  sojourning  on  earth, 
there  exists  an  intercommunion  or  spiritual  com 
munication  by  prayer ;  and,  consequently,  that  our 
friends  who  have  entered  into  their  rest  are  mindful 
of  us  in  their  petitions  to  God. 

In  the  exposition  of  her  Creed,  the  Catholic 
Church  weighs  her  words  in  the  scales  of  the  sane- 
tuary  with  as  much  precision  as  a  banker  weighs 
gold.  With  regard  to  the  Invocation  of  Saints,  the 
Church  simply  declares  that  it  is  "  useful  and  salu 
tary  "  to  ask  their  prayers.  There  are  expressions 
addressed  to  the  saints,  in  some  popular  books  of 
devotion,  which,  to  critical  readers,  may  seem  ex 
travagant.  But  they  are  only  the  warm  language 
of  affection  and  poetry,  and  are  to  be  regulated  by 
our  standard  of  faith ;  and  notice  that  all  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  end  with  the  formula :  "  Through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  sufficiently  indicating  her  belief 
that  Christ  is  the  Mediator  of  salvation.  A  heart 
tenderly  attached  to  the  saints  will  give  vent  to  its 
feelings  in  the  language  of  hyperbole,  just  as  an  en 
thusiastic  lover  will  call  his  future  bride  his  ador 
able  queen,  without  any  intention  of  worshipping 
her  as  a  goddess.  This  reflection  should  be  borne 
in  mind  while  reading  such  passages. 

I  might  easily  show,  by  voluminous  quotations 
from  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  first  ages  of  the 
Church,  how  conformable  to  the  teaching  of  an 
tiquity  is  the  Catholic  practice  of  invoking  the  inter 
cession  of  the  saints.  But  as  you,  dear  reader,  may 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  183 

not  be  disposed  to  attach  adequate  importance  to 
the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  I  shall  confine  myself 
to  the  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture. 

You  will  readily  admit  that  it  is  a  salutary 
custom  to  ask  the  prayers  of  the  blessed  in  heaven, 
provided  you  have  no  doubt  that  they  can  hear 
your  prayers,  and  that  they  have  the  power  and 
the  will  to  assist  you.  Now  the  Scriptures  amply 
demonstrate  the  knowledge,  the  influence,  and  the 
love  of  the  saints  in  our  regard. 

1.  It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
angels  and  saints  reigning  with  God  see  and  hear 
in  the  same  manner  that  we  see  and  hear  on  earth  ; 
or  that  knowledge  is  communicated  to  them  as  it  is 
communicated  to  us.  While  we  are  confined  in  the 
prison  of  the  body,  we  see  only  with  our  eyes  and 
hear  with  our  ears ;  and  hence  our  faculties  of  vision 
and  hearing  are  very  limited.  Compared  with  the 
heavenly  inhabitants,  we  are  like  a  man  in  a  dark 
some  cell  through  which  a  dim  ray  of  light  pene 
trates.  He  observes  but  a  few  objects,  and  these 
very  obscurely.  But  as  soon  as  our  soul  is  freed 
from  the  body,  soaring  heavenward  like  a  bird  re 
leased  from  its  cage,  its  vision  is  at  once  marvel- 
ously  enlarged.  It  requires  neither  eyes  to  see  nor 
ears  to  hear,  but  beholds  all  things  in  God  as  in  a 
mirror.  "We  now,"  says  the  Apostle,  "see  through 
a  glass  darkly  ;  but  then  face  to  face.  Now,  I  know 
in  part :  but  then  I  shall  know  even  as  I  am  known."1 

1 1.  Cor.  xiii.  12. 


184  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

That  the  spirits  of  the  just  in  heaven  are  clearly 
conversant  with  our  affairs  on  earth,  is  also  manifest 
from  the  following  passages  of  Holy  Writ.  The 
venerable  Patriarch  Jacob,  when  on  his  death-bed, 
prayed  thus  for  his  two  grandchildren  •  "  May  the 
angel  that  delivereth  me  from  all  evils,  bless  these 
boys."1  Here  we  see  a  holy  Patriarch  —  one  singu 
larly  favored  by  Almighty  God,  and  enlightened  by 
many  supernatural  visions,  the  father  of  Jehovah's 
Chosen  people  —  asking  the  angel  in  heaven  to  ob 
tain  a  blessing  for  his  grandchildren.  And  surely 
we  cannot  suppose  that  he  would  be  so  ignorant  as 
to  pray  to  one  that  could  not  hear  him  ? 

The  angel  Raphael,  after  having  disclosed  him 
self  to  Tobias,  said  to  him :  "  When  thou  didst  pray 
with  tears,  and  didst  bury  the  dead,  and  didst  leave 
thy  dinner,  I  oifered  thy  prayer  to  the  Lord."1 
How  could  the  angel,  if  he  were  ignorant  of  these 
petitions,  have  presented  to  God  the  prayers  of 
Tobias? 

To  pass  from  the  Old  to  the  New  Testament,  our 
Saviour  declares  that  "  there  shall  be  joy  before  the 
angels  of  God  upon  one  sinner  doing  penance."1 
Then  the  angels  are  glad  whenever  you  repent  of 
your  sins.  Now,  what  is  repentance?  It  is  a  change 
of  heart.  It  is  an  interior  operation  of  the  will. 
The  saints,  therefore,  are  acquainted  —  we  know 
not  how  —  not  only  with  your  actions  and  word^ 
but  even  with  your  very  thoughts. 

1  Geu.  xiviii.  16.         *  Tobias  xii.  12.        •  Luke  xv.  10. 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  185 

And  when  St.  Paul  says  that  "  we  are  made  a 
spectacle  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to  men,"1  what 
does  he  mean,  unless  that  as  our  actions  are  seen 
by  men,  even  so  they  are  visible  to  the  angels  in 
heaven  ? 

The  examples  I  have  quoted  refer,  it  is  true,  to 
the  angels.  But  our  Lord  declares  that  the  saints 
in  heaven  shall  be  like  the  angelic  spirits>  by  pos 
sessing  the  same  knowledge,  enjoying  the  same 
happiness.2 

We  read  in  the  Gospel  that  Dives,  while  suffer 
ing  in  the  place  of  the  reprobates,  earnestly  besought 
Abraham  to  cool  his  burning  thirst.  And  Abra 
ham,  though  then  detained  in  Limbo,  was  able  to 
listen  and  reply  to  him.  Now,  if  communication 
could  exist  between  the  souls  of  the  just  and  of  the 
reprobate,  how  much  easier  is  it  to  suppose  that 
interchange  of  thought  can  exist  between  the  saints 
in  heaven  and  their  brethren  on  earth  ? 

These  few  instances  are  sufficient  to  convince  you 
that  the  spirits  in  heaven  hear  our  prayers. 

2.  We  have  also  abundant  testimony  from  Scrip 
ture  to  show  that  the  saints  assist  us  by  their  pray 
ers.  Almighty  God  threatened  the  inhabitants  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha  with  utter  destruction,  on 
account  of  their  crimes  and  abominations.  Abra 
ham  interposes  in  their  behalf;  and  in  response  to 
his  prayer,  God  consents  to  spare  those  cities  if  only 
ten  just  men  are  found  therein.  Here  the  aveng- 

1 1.  Cor.  iv.  9.  2  Matt.  xxii.  30. 

16* 


186  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

ing  hand  of  God  is  suspended,  and  the  fire  of  His 
wrath  withheld,  through  the  efficacy  of  the  prayers 
of  a  single  man  ! l 

We  read  in  the  Book  of  Exodus  that  when  the 
Amalekites  were  about  to  wage  war  on  the  children 
of  Israel,  Moses,  the  great  servant  aud  Prophet  of 
the  Lord,  went  up  on  a  mountain  to  pray  for  the 
success  of  his  people ;  and  the  Scriptures  inform  us 
that  whenever  Moses  raised  his  hands  in  prayer,  the 
Israelites  were  victorious,  but  when  he  ceased  to 
pray,  Amalek  conquered.  Could  the  power  of  inter 
cessory  prayer  be  manifested  in  a  more  striking 
manner  ?  The  silent  prayer  of  Moses  on  the  moun 
tain  was  more  formidable  to  the  Amalekites  than 
the  sword  of  Josue  and  his  armed  hosts  fighting  in 
the  valley.2 

Y/hen  the  same  Hebrew  people  were  banished 
from  their  native  country,  and  carried  into  exile  in 
Babylon,  so  great  was  their  confidence  in  the  pray 
ers  of  their  brethren  in  Jerusalem,  that  they  sent 
them  the  following  message,  together  with  a  sum  of 
money,  that  sacrifice  might  be  offered  up  for  them 
in  the  holy  city  :  "  Pray  ye  for  us  to  the  Lord  our 
God,  for  we  have  sinned  against  the  Lord  our 
God."8 

When  the  friends  of  Job  had  excited  the  indig 
nation  of  the  Almighty,  in  consequence  of  their 
vain  speech,  God,  instead  of  directly  granting  them 

1  Gen,  xviii.  f  Exod.  xvii.  8  Barucii  i.  13. 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  187 

the  pardon  which  they  sought,  commanded  them  to 
invoke  the  intercession  of  Job:  "Go,  'He  says,'  to 
My  servant  Job,  and  offer  for  yourselves  a  holocaust, 
and  My  servant  Job  will  pray  for  you,  and  his  face 
will  I  accept." !  Nor  did  they  appeal  to  Job  in 
vain ;  for,  "  the  Lord  was  turned  at  the  penance  of 
Job  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends." 2  In  this  in 
stance,  we  not  only  see  the  value  of  intercessory 
prayei,  but  we  find  God  sanctioning  it  by  His  own 
authority. 

Bui  of  all  the  sacred  writers,  there  is  none  that 
reposes  greater  confidence  in  the  prayers  of  his 
brethien  than  St.  Paul,  although  no  one  had  a  better 
knowledge  than  he  of  the  infinite  merits  of  our 
Savioir's  passion,  and  no  one  could  have  more 
endeared  himself  to  God  by  his  personal  labors. 
In  hif;  Epistles,  St.  Paul  repeatedly  asks  for  himself 
the  prayers  of  his  disciples.  If  he  wishes  to  be  de 
livered  from  the  hands  of  the  unbelievers  of  Judea, 
and  fhat  his  ministry  may  be  successful  in  Jerusa 
lem,  he  asks  the  Romans  to  obtain  those  favors  for 
him.  If  he  desires  the  grace  of  preaching  with 
profit  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  he  invokes  the 
intercession  of  the  Ephesians. 

Kay,  is  it  not  a  common  practice  among  ourselves. 
and  even  among  our  dissenting  brethren,  to  ask  the 
prayers  of  one  another  ?  When  a  father  is  about  to 
leave  his  house  on  a  long  journey,  the  instinct  of 

A  Job  xlii.  » Ibid. 


188  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

piety  prompts  him  to  say  to  his  wife  and  chil  Jren : 
"  Remember  me  in  your  prayers." 

Now  I  ask  you,  if  our  friends,  though  sinners,  can 
aid  us  by  their  prayers,  why  cannot  our  friends,  the 
saints  of  God,  be  able  to  assist  us  also  ?  If  Abra 
ham,  and  Moses,  and  Job  exercised  so  much  In 
fluence  with  the  Almighty  while  they  lived  in  the 
flesh,  is  their  power  with  God  diminished  now  that 
they  reign  with  him  in  heaven  ? 

We  are  moved  by  the  children  of  Israel  sending 
their  pious  petitions  to  their  brethren  in  Jerusalem. 
They  recalled  to  mind,  no  doubt,  what  the  Lord  said 
to  Solomon  after  he  had  completed  the  temple :  "  My 
eyes  shall  be  open,  and  My  ears  attentive  to  the 
prayer  of  him  that  shall  pray  in  this  place."  l  If 
the  supplications  of  those  that  prayed  in  the  earthly 
Jerusalem  were  so  efficacious,  what  will  God  refuse 
to  those  who  pray  to  Him  face  to  face  in  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem  ? 

3.  But  you  will  ask,  are  the  saints  in  heaven  so 
interested  in  our  welfare  as  to  be  mindful  of  us  in 
their  prayers  ?  Or,  are  they  so  much  absorbed  in 
the  contemplation  of  God,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of 
celestial  bliss,  as  to  be  altogether  regardless  of  their 
friends  on  earth  ?  Far  from  us  the  suspicion  that 
the  saints  reigning  with  God  ever  forget  us.  If  they 
have  one  desire  greater  than  another,  it  is  to  see 
us  one  day  wearing  the  crowns  which  await  us  in 
heaven.  And  if  they  were  capable  of  experiencing 

1 II.  Paralip.  vii.  15. 


IT; VOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  189 

sorrow,  their  grief  would  spring  from  the  considera 
tion  that  we  do  not  always  walk  in  their  footsteps 
here,  so  as  to  make  sure  our  election  to  eternal  glory 
hereafter. 

The  Hebrew  people,  like  us,  believed  that  the 
saints  after  death  were  occupied  in  praying  for  us. 
We  read  in  the  Book  of  Machabees,  that  Judaa 
Machabeus,  the  night  before  he  engaged  in  battle 
with  the  army  of  the  impious  Nicanor,  had  a  super 
natural  dream,  or  vision,  in  which  he  beheld  Onias, 
the  high-priest,  and  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  both  of 
whom  had  been  long  since  dead.  Ouias  appeared 
to  him  with  outstretched  arms,  praying  for  the  people 
of  God  ;  and  pointing  towards  Jeremiah,  Onias  said 
to  Judas  Machabeus :  "  This  is  a  lover  of  his 
brethren,  and  the  people  of  Israel.  This  is  he  that 
prayeth  much  for  the  people,  and  for  all  the  holy 
city,  Jeremiah  the  prophet  of  God." l  Then  Jere 
miah,  as  is  related  in  the  sequel  of  the  vision,  handed 
a  sword  to  Judas,  with  which  the  prophet  predicted 
that  Judas  would  conquer  his  enemies.  The  soldiers, 
animated  by  the  relation  of  Judas,  fought  with  in 
vincible  courage,  and  overcame  the  enemy.  The 
Book  of  Machabees,  though  not  admitted  by  our 
dissenting  brethren  to-  be  inspired,  must  be  at  least 
acknowledged  by  them  a  faithful  historical  record. 
It  is  manifest,  therefore,  from  this  narrative,  that 
the  Hebrew  people  believed  that  the  saints  in  heaven 
pray  for  their  brethren  on  earth. 

1 II.  Mac.   xv.  14. 


190  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

St.  John,  in  his  Revelation,  describes  the  saints 
before  the  throne  of  God  praying  for  their  earthly 
brethren :  "  The  four  and  twenty  ancients  fell  down 
before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps, 
and  golden  vials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers 
of  the  saints." l 

The  prophet  Zachariah  records  a  prayer  that  was 
offered  by  the  angel  for  the  people  of  God,  and  the 
favorable  answer  which  came  from  heaven :  "  How 
long,  O  Lord,  wilt  Thou  not  have  mercy  on  Jerusa 
lem,  and  on  the  cities  of  Juda,  with  which  Thou 
hast  been  angry?  ....  And  the  Lord  answered 
the  angel  ....  good  words,  comfortable  words."  * 

Nor  can  we  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  angels 
labor  for  our  salvation,  since  we  are  told  by  St. 
Peter  that  "  the  Devil  goeth  about  like  a  roaring 
lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ; "  for,  if  hate 
impels  the  demons  to  ruin  us,  surely  love  must  in 
spire  the  angels  to  help  us  in  securing  the  crown  of 
glory.  And  if  the  angels  are  so  mindful  of  us, 
though  of  a  different  nature  from  ours,  how  much 
more  interest  do  the  saints  manifest  in  our  welfare, 
who  are  bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh  ? 

To  ask  the  prayers  of  our  brethren  in  heaven  is 
not  only  conformable  to  Holy  Scripture,  but  is 
prompted  by  the  instincts  of  our  nature.  The 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Communion  of  Saints  robs 
death  of  its  terrors;  while  the  Reformers  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  in  denying  the  Communion  of 
1  Bevel,  v.  8.  2Zach.  i.  12,  13.  ~ 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  19l 

Saints,  not  only  inflicted  a  deadly  wound  on  the 
Creed,  but  also  severed  the  tenderest  chords  of  the 
human  heart.  They  broke  asunder  the  holy  ties 
that  united  earth  with  heaven,  and  the  soul  in  the 
flesh  with  the  soul  released  from  the  flesh.  If  my 
brother  leaves  me  to  cross  the  seas,  I  believe  that  he 
continues  to  pray  for  me.  And  when  he  crosses  the 
narrow  sea  of  death,  and  lauds  on  the  shores  of 
eternity,  why  should  he  not  pray  for  me  still? 
What  does  death  destroy?  The  body.  The  soul 
still  lives  and  moves  and  has  its  being.  It  thinks 
and  wills  ard  remembers  and  loves.  The  dross  of 
sin  and  selfishness  and  hatred  are  burned  by  the 
salutary  fires  of  contrition,  and  nothing  remains  but 
the  pure  gold  of  charity. 

Oh,  far  be  from  us  the  dreary  thought  that  death 
cuts  off  our  friends  entirely  from  us !  Far  be  from 
us  the  heartless  creed  which  declares  a  perpetual 
divorce  between  us  and  the  just  in  heaven!  Do 
not  imagine,  when  you  lose  a  father  or  mother,  a 
tender  sister  or  brother  who  died  in  the  peace  of 
Christ,  that  they  are  forgetful  of  you.  The  love 
they  bore  you  on  earth  is  purified  and  intensified 
in  heaven.  Or,  if  your  innocent  child,  regenerated 
in  the  waters  of  baptism,  is  snatched  from  you  by 
death,  be  assured  that,  though  separated  from  you 
in  body,  that  child  is  with  you  in  spirit,  and  is  re 
paying  you  a  thousand-fold  for  the  natural  life  it 
received  from  you.  Be  convinced  that  the  golden 
link  of  prayer  binds  you  to  that  angeiic  infant,  and 


192  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS 

that  it  is  continually  offering  up  its  fervent  petitions 
at  the  throne  of  God  for  you,  that  you  both  may  be 
reunited  in  heaven. 

But  I  hear  men  cry  out  with  Pharisaical  assur 
ance.  "You  dishonor  God,  sir,  in  praying  to  the 
saints.  You  make  void  the  mediatorship  of  Jesu3 
Christ.  You  put  the  creature  above  the  Creator." 

How  utterly  groundless  is  this  objection  !  We  do 
not  dishonor  God  in  praying  to  the  saints.  We 
should  indeed  dishonor  Himv  if  we  consulted  the 
saints  independently  of  God.  But  such  is  not  our 
practice.  The  Catholic  Church  teaches,  on  the  con 
trary,  that  God  alone  is  the  Giver  of  all  good  gifts; 
that  He  is  the  Source  of  all  blessings,  the  Fountain 
of  all  goodness.  She  teaches  that  whatever  happi 
ness,  or  glory,  or  influence  the  saints  possess,  all 
comes  from  God.  As  the  moon  borrows  her  light 
from  the  sun,  so  do  the  blessed  borrow  their  light 
from  Jesus,  "  the  Sun  of  Justice,"  the  one  Mediator 
(of  redemption)  of  God  and  men." J  Hence,  when 
we  address  the  saints,  we  beg  them  to  pray  for  ua 
through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  while  we  ask 
Jesus  to  help  us  through  His  own  merits. 

But  what  is  the  use  of  praying  to  the  saints,  since 
God  can  hear  us?  If  it  is  vain  and  useless  to  pray 
to  the  saints  because  God  can  hear  us,  then  Jacob 
was  wrong  in  praying  to  the  angel ;  then  the  friends 
of  Job  were  wrong  iu  asking  him  to  pray  for  them, 

1 1.  Tim.  ii.  6. 


INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS.  193 

though  God  commanded  them  to  invoke  Job's  inter 
cession.  Then  the  Jews  exiled  in  Babylon  were 
wrong  in  asking  their  brethren  in  Jerusalem  to  pray 
for  them  ;  then  St.  Paul  was  wrong  in  beseeching 
his  friends  to  pray  for  him  ;  then  we  are  all  wrong 
in  praying  for  each  other.  You  deem  it  useful  and 
pious  to  ask  your  pastor  to  pray  for  you.  Is  it  not, 
at  least,  equally  useful  for  me  to  invoke  the  prayers 
of  St.  Paul,  since  I  am  convinced  that  he  can  hear 
me? 

God  forbid  that  our  supplications  to  our  Father 
in  heaven  should  diminish  in  proportion  as  our 
prayers  to  the  saints  are  increased;  for,  after  all, 
we  must  remember  that,  while  the  Church  declares 
it  to  be  necessary  for  salvation  to  pray  to  God,  she 
merely  asserts  that  it  is  "  good  and  useful  to  invoke 
the  saints."  l 

To  ask  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  far  from  being 
useless,  is  most  profitable.  By  invoking  their  inter 
cession,  instead  of  one  we  have  many  praying  for 
us.  To  our  own  tepid  petitions  we  unite  the  fervent 
supplications  of  the  blessed;  and  "the  Lord  will 
hear  the  prayers  of  the  just."  *  To  the  petitions  of 
us,  poor  pilgrims  in  this  vale  of  tears,  are  united 
those  of  the  citizens  of  heaven.  We  ask  them  to 
pray  to  their  God  and  to  our  God ;  to  their  Father 
and  to  our  Father,  that  we  may  one  day  share  theii 

1  Council  of  Trent,  Sees.  xxv.  *  Prov.  xv.  20. 

17  N 


194  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

delights  in  that  blessed  country  in  company  with 
our  common  Kedeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  with  whom  to 
live  is  to  reign. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

IS  IT  LAWFUL  TO  HONOR  THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN 
MARY  AS  A  SAINT;  TO  INVOKE  HER  AS  AN  IN 
TERCESSOR,  AND  TO  IMITATE  HER  AS  A  MODEL? 

I. 

IS  IT  LAWFUL  TO  HONOR  HER? 

THE  sincere  adorers  and  lovers  of  our  Lord  Je 
sus  Christ  look  with  reverence  on  every  object 
with  which  He  was  associated,  and  they  conceive  an 
affection-  for  every  person  that  was  near  and  dear  to 
Him  on  earth.  And  the  closer  the  intimacy  of  those 
persons  with  our  Saviour  the  holier  do  they  appear 
in  our  estimation ;  just  as  those  planets  partake 
most  of  the  sun's  light  and  heat  which  revolve  the 
nearest  around  him. 

There  is  something  hallowed  to  the  eye  of  the 
Christian  in  the  very  clay  of  Judea,  because  it  was 
pressed  by  the  footprints  of  our  Blessed  Redeemer. 
With  what  reverent  steps  we  would  enter  the  cave 
of  Bethlehem,  because  there  was  born  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.  With  what  religious  demeanor  we 
would  tread  the  streets  of  Nazareth  when  we  re 
membered  that  there  were  spent  the  days  of  His 
boyhood.  What  profound  religious  awe  would  fill 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  195 

our  hearts  on  ascending  Mount  Calvary,  where  Ha 
paid  by  His  blood  the  ransom  of  our  souls. 

But  if  the  lifeless  soil  claims  so  much  reverence, 
how  much  more  veneration  would  be  enkindled  in 
our  hearts  for  the  living  persons  who  were  the 
friends  and  associates  of  our  Saviour  on  earth? 
For,  we  know  that  He  exercised  a  certain  salutary 
and  magnetic  influence  on  those  whom  He  ap 
proached.  "All  the  multitude  sought  to  touch 
Him,  for  virtue  went  out  from  Him  and  healed  all,"1 
as  happened  to  the  woman  who  had  been  troubled 
with  an  issue  of  blood.2 

We  would  seem  indeed  to  draw  near  to  Jesus,  if 
we  had  the  happiness  of  only  conversing  with  the 
Samaritan  woman,  or  of  eating  at  the  table  of  Zac- 
cheus,  or  of  being  entertained  by  Nicodemus.  But 
if  we  were  admitted  into  the  inner  circle  of  His 
friends,  of  Lazarus,  Mary,  and  Martha,  for  instance, 
the  Baptist,  or  the  Apostles,  we  would  be  conscious 
that  in  their  company  we  were  drawing  still  nearer 
to  Jesus,  and  imbibing  somewhat  of  that  spirit 
which  they  must  have  largely  received  from  their 
familiar  relations  with  Him. 

Now,  if  the  land  of  Judea  is  looked  upon  as  hal 
lowed  ground,  because  Jesus  dwelt  there;  if  the 
Apostles  were  considered  as  models  of  holiness, 
because  they  were  the  chosen  companions  and 
pupils  of  our  Lord  in  His  latter  years,  how  peer- 

iLukevi.  19.  "Matt.  ii.  20. 


196  THE   FAITH    OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

less  must  have  been  the  sanctity  of  Mary,  who 
gave  Him  birth,  whose  breast  was  His  pillow,  who 
nursed  and  clothed  Him  in  infancy,  who  guided 
His  early  steps,  who  accompanied  Him  in  His  exile 
to  Egypt  and  back,  who  abode  with  Him  from  in 
fancy  to  boyhood,  from  boyhood  to  manhood ;  who 
during  all  that  time  listened  to  the  words  of  wis 
dom  which  fell  from  His  lips,  who  was  the  first  to 
embrace  Him  at  His  birth,  and  the  last  to  receive 
His  dying  breath  on  Calvary.  This  sentiment  is  so 
natural  to  us  that  we  find  it  bursting  forth  sponta 
neously  from  the  lips  of  the  woman  of  the  Gospel, 
who,  hearing  the  words  of  Jesus  full  of  wisdom  and 
sanctity,  lifted  up  her  voice  and  "  said  to  Him : 
Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bore  Thee  and  the  paps 
that  gave  Thee  suck." 

It  is  in  accordance  with  the  economy  of  divine 
Providence  that,  whenever  God  designs  any  person 
for  some  important  work,  He  bestows  on  that  per 
son  the  graces  and  dispositions  necessary  for  faith 
fully  discharging  it. 

When  Moses  was  called  by  heaven  to  be  the  leader 
of  the  Hebrew  people,  he  hesitated  to  assume  the 
formidable  office  on  the  plea  of  "  impediment  and 
slowness  of  tongue."  But  Jehovah  reassured  him 
by  promising  to  qualify  him  for  the  sublime  func 
tions  assigned  to  him :  "  I  will  be  in  thy  mouth,  and 
I  will  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt  speak." * 

1Exod.  iv.  12. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  197 

The  Prophet  Jeremiah  was  sanctified  from  his 
very  birth,  because  he  was  destined  to  be  the  herald 
of  God's  law  to  the  children  of  Israel :  "  Before  I 
formed  thee  in  the  bowels  of  thy  mother,  I  knew 
thee,  and  before  thou  earnest  forth  out  of  the  womb, 
I  sanctified  thee." l 

"  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost," 2  that 
she  might  be  worthy  to  be  the  hostess  of  our  Lord 
during  the  three  months  that  Mary  dwelt  under 
her  roof. 

John  the  Baptist  was  "  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
even  from  his  mother's  womb."3  "He  was  a  burn 
ing  and  a  shining  light,"4  because  he  was  chosen  to 
prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord. 

The  Apostles  received  the  plenitude  of  grace ; 
they  were  endowed  with  the  gift  of  tongues  and 
other  privileges5  before  they  commenced  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  Hence,  St.  Paul  says :  "  Our 
sufficiency  is  from  God,  who  hath  made  us^  minis 
ters  of  the  New  Testament."6 

Now  of  all  who  have  participated  in  the  minis 
try  of  the  Redemption,  there  is  none  who  filled  any 
position  so  exalted,  so  sacred,  as  is  the  incom 
municable  office  of  Mother  of  Jesus ;  and  there  is 
no  one  consequently  that  needed  so  high  a  degree 
of  holiness  as  she  did. 

For,  if  God  thus   sanctified  His   Prophets   and 

1  Jer.  i.  5.      2  Luke  i.  41.      3  Ibid.  i.  15.      *  John  v.  35. 

6  Acts  ii.      6 II.  Cor.  iii.  6. 
17* 


198  THE   FAITH   OF  OUB,   FATHERS. 

Apostles,  as  being  destined  to  be  the  bearers  of 
the  word  of  life,  how  much  more  sanctified  must 
Mary  have  been,  who  was  to  bear  the  Lord  and 
"Author  of  life."1  If  John  was  so  holy,  because 
he  was  chosen  as  the  pioneer  to  prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord,  how  much  more  holy  was  she  who  ushered 
Him  into  the  world.  If  holiness  became  John's 
mother,  surely  a  greater  holiness  became  the  mother 
of  John's  Master.  If  God  said  to  His  priests  of 
old :  "  Be  ye  clean,  you  that  carry  the  vessels  of 
the  Lord  ;" 2  nay,  if  the  vessels  themselves  used  in 
the  divine  service,  and  churches  are  set  apart  by 
special  consecration,  we  cannot  conceive  Mary  to 
have  been  ever  profaned  by  sin  who  was  the  chosen 
vessel  of  election,  even  the  Mother  of  God. 

When  we  call  the  Blessed  Virgin  the  Mother  of 
God,  we  assert  our  belief  in  two  things :  1st.  That 
her  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  is  true  man,  else  she  were  not 
a  mother.  2d.  That  He  is  true  God,  else  she  were 
not  the  Mother  of  God.  In  other  words,  we  affirm 
that  the  Second  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  the 
Word  of  God,  who  in  His  divine  nature  is  from 
all .  eternity  begotten  of  the  Father,  consubstantial 
with  Him,  was  in  the  fulness  of  time  again  begotten, 
by  being  born  of  the  Virgin,  thus  taking  to  Him 
self,  from  her  maternal  womb,  a  human  nature  of 
the  same  substance  with  hers. 

But  it  may  be  said  :  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  not  the 

1  Acts  iii.  15.  2  Isaiah  lii.  11. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY.  199 

Mother  of  the  Divinity.  She  had  not,  and  could 
not  have  any  part  in  the  generation  of  the  Word 
of  God.  For,  that  generation  is  eternal ;  her  mater 
nity  temporal ;  He  is  her  Creator ;  she  His  creature. 
Style  her,  if  you  will,  the  Mother  of  the  man  Jesus, 
or  even  of  the  human  nature  of  the  Son  of  God, 
but  not  the  Mother  of  God. 

I  shall  answer  this  objection  by  putting  a  question. 
Did  the  mother  who  bore  us,  have  any  part  in  the 
production  of  our  souls  f  Was  not  this  nobler  part 
of  our  being  the  work  of  God  alone  ?  And  yet 
who  would  for  a  moment  dream  of  saying,  "the 
mother  of  my  body,"  and  not  "  my  mother  "  ? 

The  comparison  teaches  us  that  the  terms  parent 
and  child,  mother  and  son,  refer  to  the  persons  and 
not  to  the  parts  or  elements  of  which  the  persons 
are  composed.  Hence,  no  one  says  :  "  The  mother 
of  my  body"  "  the  mother  of  my  soul; "  but  in  all 
propriety  "  my  mother,"  the  mother  of  me  who 
live  and  breathe,  think  and  act,  one  in  my  person 
ality,  though  uniting  in  it  a  soul  directly  created  by 
God,  and  a  material  body  directly  derived  from  the 
maternal  womb.  In  like  manner,  as  far  as  the 
sublime  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  can  be  reflected 
in  the  natural  order,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  under  the 
overshadowing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  communica 
ting  to  the  Second  Person  of  the  adorable  Trinity, 
as  mothers  do,  a  true  human  nature  of  the  same 
substance  with  her  own,  is  thereby  really  and  truly 
His  Mother. 


200  THE  FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

It  is  in  this  sense  that  the  title  of  Mother  of  God, 
denied  by  Nestorius,  was  vindicated  to  her  by  the 
General  Council  of  Ephesus  in  431;  and  in  this 
sense,  and  in  no  other,  has  the  Church  called  her 
by  that  title. 

Hence,  by  immediate  and  necessary  consequence, 
follow  her  surpassing  dignity  and  excellence,  and 
her  special  relationship  and  affinity,  not  only  with 
her  divine  Son,  but  also  with  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

Mary,  as  Wordsworth  beautifully  expresses  it, 
united  in  her  person  "  a  mother's  love  with  maiden 
purity."  The  Church  teaches  us  that  she  was 
always  a  Virgin,  a  Virgin  before  her  espousals, 
during  her  married  life,  and  after  her  spouse's 
death.  "  The  Angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God 
....  to  a  Virgin  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name 
was  Joseph,  ....  and  the  Virgin's  name  was 
Mary." l 

That  she  remained  a  Virgin  till  after  the  birth  of 
Jesus  is  expressly  stated  in  the  Gospel.2  It  is  not 
less  certain  that  she  continued  in  the  same  state 
during  the  remainder  of  her  days ;  for  sjie  is  called 
a  Virgin  in  the  Apostles'  and  the  Nicene  Creed,  and 
that  epithet  cannot  be  restricted  to  the  time  of  our 
Saviour's  birth,  but  must  be  referred  to  her  whole 
life,  inasmuch  as  both  creeds  were  compiled  long 
after  she  had  passed  away. 

1  Luke  i.  26,27.  3  Matt.  i.  25. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY.  201 

The  Canon  of  the  Mass,  which  is  very  probably  of 
Apostolic  antiquity,  speaks  of  her  as  the  "  glorious 
Ever  Virgin,"  and  in  this  sentiment  all  Catholic  tra 
dition  concurs. 

There  is  a  propriety  which  suggests  itself  to  every 
Christian  in  Mary's  remaining  a  Virgin  after  the 
birth  of  Jesus,  for,  as  Bishop  Bull  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  of  England  remarks,  "It  cannot 
with  decency  be  imagined  that  the  most  holy  vessel 
which  was  once  consecrated  to  be  a  receptacle  of  the 
Deity,  should  be  afterwards  desecrated  and  profaned 
by  human  use."  The  learned  Grotius,  Calvin,  and 
other  eminent  Protestant  writers,  hold  the  same  view. 

The  doctrine  of  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary  is 
now  combated  by  Protestants,  as  it  was  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Church,  by  Helvidius  and  Jovinian,  on 
the  following  grounds : 

1st.  The  evangelist  says  that  "  Joseph  took  unto 
him  his  wife,  and  he  knew  her  not  till  she  brought 
forth  her  first-born  son."1  This  sentence  suggests  to 
dissenters  that  other  children  besides  Jesus  were  born 
to  Mary.  But  the  qualifying  word  till  by  no  means 
implies  that  the  chaste  union  which  had  subsisted 
between  Mary  and  Joseph  up  to  the  birth  of  our 
Lord,  was  subsequently  altered.  The  Protestant 
Hooker  justly  complains  of  the  early  heretics  as 
having  "  abused  greatly  these  words  of  Matthew, 
gathering  against  the  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 

1  Matt.  i.  25. 


202  THE  FAITH    OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

that  a  thing  denied  with  special  circumstance  doth 
import  an  opposite  affirmation  when  once  that  cir 
cumstance  is  expired." l  To  express  Hooker's  idea 
in  plainer  words,  when  a  thing  is  said  not  to  have 
occurred  until  another  event  had  happened,  it  does 
not  necessarily  follow  that  it  did  occur  after  that 
event  took  place. 

The  Scripture  says  that  the  raven  went  forth  from 
the  ark,  "  and  did  not  return  till  the  waters  were 
dried  up  upon  the  earth,"2  that  is,  it  never  returned. 
"Samuel  saw  Saul  no  more  till  the  day  of  his  death."* 
He  did  not,  of  course,  see  him  after  death.  "  The 
Lord  said  to  my  Lord  :  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand 
until  I  make  thy  enemies  thy  footstool."4  These  words 
apply  to  our  Saviour,  who  did  not  cease  to  sit  at  the 
right  of  God  after  His  enemies  were  subdued. 

2d.  But  Jesus  is  called  Mary's  first-born  Son,  and 
does  not  a  first-born  always  imply  the  subsequent 
birth  of  other  children  to  the  same  mother  ?  By  no 
means ;  for  the  .name  of  first-born  was  given  to  the 
first  sou  of  every  Jewish  mother,  whether  other  chil 
dren  followed  or  not.  We  find  this  epithet  applied 
to  Machir,  for  instance,  who  was  the  only  son  of 
Manasses.5 

3d.  But  is  not  mention  frequently  made  of  the 
brethren  of  Jesus?6  Fortunately  the  Gospels  them 
selves  will  enable  us  to  trace  the  maternity  of  those 

1  Book  V.,  ch.  xlv.       2  Gen.  viii.  7.      3 1.  Kings  xv.  35. 
*Ps.  cix.     5Josue  xvii.  1.      6Matt.  xii.  46;  xiii.  55,  56. 


THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY.  203 

who  are  called  His  brothers,  not  to  the  Blessed  Vir 
gin,  but  to  another  Mary.  St.  Matthew  mentions, 
by  name,  James  and  Joseph  among  the  brethren  of 
Jesus  ;l  and  the  same  Evangelist  and  also  St.  Mark 
tell  us  that  among  those  who  were  present  at  the 
crucifixion,  were  Mary  Magdalen  and  Mary  the 
mother  of  James  and  Joseph.2  And  St.  John,  who 
narrates  with  more  detail  the  circumstances  of  the 
crucifixion,  informs  us  who  this  second  Mary  was,  for 
he  says  that  there  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  His 
mother  and  His  mother's  sister,  Mary  of  Cleophas, 
and  Mary  Magdalen.3  There  is  no  doubt  that  Mary 
of  Cleophas  is  identical  with  Mary  who  is  called  by 
Matthew  and  Mark  the  mother  of  James  and  Joseph. 
And  as  Mary  of  Cleophas  was  the  kinswoman  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  James  and  Joseph  are  called  the 
brothers  of  Jesus,  in  conformity  with  the  Hebrew 
practice  of  giving  that  appellation  to  cousins  or  near 
relations.  Abraham,  for  instance,  was  the  uncle  of 
Lot,  yet  he  calls  him  brother.4 

Mary  is  exalted  above  all  other  women,  not  only 
because  she  united  "  a  mother's  love  with  maiden 
purity,"  but  also  because  she  was  conceived  without 
original  sin.  The  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion  is  thus  expressed  by  the  Church  :  "  We  define 
that  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  in  the  first  moment  of 
her  conception,  by  the  singular  grace  and  privilege 

*  Matt.  xii.  46 ;  xiii.  55,  56.       2  Matt,  xxvii. ;  Mark  xv. 
8  J  ohn  xix.  25.  *  Gen.  xiii.  8. 


204  THE  FAITH   OF  OTTR  FATHERS. 

of  Almighty  God,  in  virtue  of  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  human  race,  was  preserved 
free  from  every  stain  of  original  sin."1 

Unlike  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Adam,  the  soul 
of  Mary  was  never  subject  to  sin,  even  in  the  first 
moment  of  its  infusion  into  the  body.  She  alone  was 
exempt  fron  the  original  taint.  This  immunity  of 
Mary  from  original  sin  is  exclusively  due  to  the 
merits  of  Christ,  as  the  Church  expressly  declares. 
She  needed  a  Redeemer  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 
human  race,  and  therefore  was  "  redeemed,  but  in  a 
more  sublime  manner."2  Mary  is  as  much  indebted 
to  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  for  having  been  pre 
served,  as  we  are  for  having  been  cleansed  from  orig 
inal  sin. 

Although  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  not 
formulated  into  a  dogma  of  faith  till  1854,  it  is  at 
least  implied  in  Holy  Scripture  ;  it  is  in  strict  har 
mony  with  the  place  which  Mary  holds  in  the  econ 
omy  of  redemption,  and  has  virtually  received  the 
pious  assent  of  the  faithful  from  the  earliest  days  of 
the  Church, 

In  Genesis  we  read :  "  I  will  put  enmities  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  and  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  she 
shall  crush  thy  head."3  All  Catholic  commentators, 
ancient  and  modern,  recognize  in  the  Seed,  the  ser 
pent,  and  the  woman,  types  of  our  Saviour,  of  Mary, 
and  the  Devil.  God  here  declares  that  the  enmity 

1  Bulla  Dogmat.  Pii  Papse  IX.       2  Ibid.      3  Gen.  iii.  15. 


THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN  MARY.  205 

of  the  Seed  and  that  of  the  woman  towards  the 
Tempter  were  to  be  identical.  Now  the  enmity  of 
Christ  or  the  Seed  towards  the  evil  One  was  absolute 
and  perpetual.  Therefore  the  enmity  of  Mary,  or 
the  woman,  towards  the  Devil,  never  admitted  of  any 
momentary  reconciliation,  which  would  have  existed 
if  she  were  ever  subject  to  original  sin. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  as  three  characters  ap 
pear  on  the  scene  of  our  fall,  Adam,  Eve,  and  the 
rebellious  Angel,  so  three  corresponding  personages 
figure  in  our  redemption,  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
second  Adam,1  Mary,  who  is  the  second  Eve,  and  the 
Archangel  Gabriel.  The  second  Adam  was  immeas 
urably  superior  to  the  first,  Gabriel  was  superior  to 
the  fallen  angel,  and  hence  we  are  warranted  by 
analogy  to  conclude  that  Mary  was  superior  to  Eve. 
But  if  she  had  been  created  in  original  sin,  instead 
of  being  superior,  she  would  be  inferior  to  Eve,  who 
was  certainly  created  immaculate.  We  cannot  con 
ceive  that  the  mother  of  Cain  was  created  superior 
to  the  mother  of  Jesus.  It  would  have  been  un 
worthy  of  a  God  of  infinite  purity  to  have  been 
born  of  a  woman  that  was  even  for  an  instant  under 
the  dominion  of  Satan. 

The  liturg'es  of  the  Church  being  the  established 
formularies  of  her  public  worship,  are  among  the 
most  authoritative  documents  that  can  be  adduced 
in  favor  of  any  religious  practice. 

1 1.  Cor.  xv.  45. 
18 


206  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

In  the  liturgy  ascribed  to  St.  James,  Mary  is  com 
memorated  as  "our  most  holy,  immaculate,  and  most 
glorious  lady,  mother  of  God  and  ever  Virgin 
Mary."  ' 

In  the  Maronite  Ritual  she  is  invoked  as  "  our 
holy,  praiseworthy,  and  immaculate  lady."  2 

Iii  the  Alexandrian  liturgy  of  St.  Basil  she  is  ad 
dressed  as  "most  holy,  most  glorious,  immaculate."8 

The  Feast  of  Mary's  Conception  commenced  to  be 
celebrated  in  the  East  in  the  fifth,  and  in  the  West 
in  the  seventh  century.  It  was  not  introduced  into 
Rome  till  probably  towards  the  end  of  the  four 
teenth  century.  Though  Rome  is  always  the  first 
that  is  called  on  to  sanction  a  new  festival,  she  is 
often  the  last  to  take  part  in  it.  She  is  the  first 
that  is  expected  to  give  the  keynote,  but  frequently 
the  last  to  join  in  the  festive  song.  While  she  is 
silent,  the  notes  are  faint  and  uncertain  ;  when  her 
voice  joins  in  the  chant,  the  song  of  praise  becomes 
constant  and  universal. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  add  that  the  in 
troduction  of  the  Festival  of  the  Conception  after 
the  lapse  of  so  many  centuries  from  the  foundation 
of  Christianity,  no  more  implies  a  novelty  of  doc 
trine  than  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  1875  to 
Arminius,  the  German  hero  who  flourished  in  the 
first  century,  would  be  an  evidence  of  his  recent 

1  Bibliotheca  Max.  Patrum,  t.  2,  p.  3. 

8  De  sac.  ordinal.,  p.  313.  3  Kenaudot.  Lit.  Orient. 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN  MARY.  207 

exploits.  The  Feast  of  the  Blessed  Trinity  was  not 
introduced  till  the  fifth  century,  though  it  commem 
orates  a  fundamental  mystery  of  the  Christian  re 
ligion. 

It  is  interesting  to  us  to  know  that  the  Immacu 
late  Conception  of  Mary  has  been  interwoven  in  the 
earliest  history  of  our  own  country.  The  ship  that 
first  bore  Columbus  to  America  was  named  Mary 
of  the  Conception.  This  celebrated  navigator  gave 
the  same  name  to  the  second  island  which  he  dis 
covered.  The  first  chapel  erected  in  Quebec,  when 
that  city  was  founded  in  the  early  part  of  the  seven 
teenth  century,  was  dedicated  to  God  under  the  in 
vocation  of  Mary  Immaculate. 

In  view  of  these  three  great  prerogatives  of  Mary, 
her  divine  maternity,  her  perpetual  virginity,  and 
her  Immaculate  Conception,  we  are  prepared  to  find 
her  blessedness  often  and  expressly  declared  in  Holy 
Scripture.  The  Archangel  Gabriel  is  sent  to  her 
from  heaven  to  announce  to  her  the  happy  tidings 
that  she  was  destined  to  be  the  mother  of  the  world's 
Redeemer.  No  greater  favor  was  ever  before  or 
since  conferred  on  woman,  whether  we  consider  the 
dignity  of  the  messenger,  or  the  momentous  charac 
ter  of  the  message,  or  the  terms  of  respect  in  which 
it  is  conveyed.  "And  the  Angel  Gabriel  was  sent 
from  God  into  a  city  of  Galilee  called  Nazareth  to 
a  virgin,  .  .  .  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary. 
And  the  angel  being  come  in,  said  unto  her :  Hail, 
full  of  grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee;  blessed  art 


208  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

thou  among  women.  Who  having  heard,  was  troub 
led  at  his  saying,  and  thought  with  herself  what 
manner  of  salutation  this  should  be.  And  the 
angel  said  to  her :  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast 
found  grace  with  God.  Behold  thou  shalt  conceive 
in  thy  womb,  and  shalt  bring  forth  a  son,  and  thou 
shalt  call  His  name  Jesus.  .  .  .  The  Holy  Ghost 
shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Most 
High  shall  overshadow  thee,  and  therefore,  also,  the 
Holy  which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God." l 

"Hail,  full  of  grace  !  "  St.  Stephen  and  the  Apos 
tles  were  also  said  to  be  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
By  this,  however,  we  are  not  to  understand  that  the 
same  measure  of  grace  was  imparted  to  them  which 
was  given  to  Mary.  On  each  it  is  bestowed  accord 
ing  to  each  one's  merits  and  needs ;  for,  "  one  is  the 
glory  of  the  sun,  another  the  glory  of  the  moon,  and 
another  the  glory  of  the  stars,  for  star  differeth  from 
star  in  glory  ; " 2  and  as  Mary's  office  of  Mother  of 
God  immeasurably  surpassed  in  dignity  that  of  the 
protomartyr  and  of  the  Apostles,  so  did  her  grace 
superabound  over  theirs. 

" The  Lord  is  with  thee"  " He  exists  in  His  crea 
tures  in  different  ways ;  in  those  that  are  endowed 
with  reason  in  one  way,  in  irrational  creatures  in 
another.  His  irrational  creatures  have  no  means  of 
apprehending  or  possessing  Him.  All  rational  crea- 

1  Luke  i.  26-35.  8 1.  Cor.  xv.  41. 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  209 

tures  may  indeed  apprehend  Him  by  knowledge,  but 
only  the  good  by  love.  Only  in  the  good  does  He  so 
exist  as  to  be  with  them  as  well  as  in  them ;  with  them 
by  a  certain  harmony  and  agreement  of  will,  and  in 
this  way  God  is  with  all  His  saints..  But  He  is  with 
Mary  in  a  yet  more  special  manner,  for  in  her  ffcere 
was  so  great  an  agreement  and  union  with  God,  that 
not  her  will  only,  but  her  very  flesh  was  to  be  united 
to  him."1 

"Blessed  art  thou  among  women."  The  same  ex 
pression  is  applied  to  two  other  women  in  the  Holy 
Scripture,  viz.,  to  Jahel  and  Judith.  The  former  was 
called  blessed  after  she  had  slain  Sisara,2  and  the 
latter  after  she  had  slain  Holofernes,3  both  of  whom 
had  been  enemies  of  God's  people,  and  in  this  respect 
these  two  women  are  true  types  of  Mary,  who  was 
chosen  by  God  to  crush  the  head  of  the  serpent,  the 
infernal  enemy  of  mankind.  And  if  they  deserved 
the  title  of  blessed  for  being  the  instruments  of  God 
in  rescuing  Israel  from  temporal  calamities,  how 
much  more  does  Mary  merit  that  appellation,  who 
co-operated  so  actively  in  the  salvation  of  the  human 
race? 

The  Evangelist  proceeds  :  "  And  Mary,  rising  up 
in  those  days,  went  .  .  .  into  a  city  of  Juda;  and 
she  entered  into  the  house  of  Zachary  and  saluted 
Elizabeth.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  Elizabeth 
heard  the  salutation  of  Mary,  the  infant  leapt  in  her 

JSt.  Bernard.  3  Judges  v.  *  Judith  xiii. 

18*  O 


210  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

womb.  And  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  she  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice  and  said : 
Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the 
fruit  of  thy  womb.  And  whence  is  this  to  me  that 
the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come  to  me?  For 
beheld  as  soon  as  the  voice  of  thy  salutation  sounded 
in  my  ears,  the  infant  in  my  womb  leaped  for  joy. 
And  blessed  art  thou  that  hast  believed,  because 
those  things  shall  be  accomplished  that  were  spoken 
to  thee  by  the  Lord."1 

The  usual  order  of  salutation  is  here  reversed. 
Age  pays  reverence  to  youth.  A  lady  who  is  revered 
by  the  whole  community  honors  a  lowly  maiden.  An 
inspired  matron  expresses  her  astonishment  that  her 
young  kinswoman  should  deign  to  visit  her.  She 
extols  Mary's  faith  and  calls  her  blessed.  She  blends 
the  praise  of  Mary  with  the  praise  of  Mary's  Son, 
and  even  the  infant  John  testifies  his  reverential  joy 
by  leaping  in  his  mother's  womb.  And  we  are  in 
formed  that  during  this  interview  Elizabeth  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  remind  us  that  the 
veneration  she  paid  to  her  cousin,  was  not  prompted 
by  her  own  feelings,  but  was  dictated  by  the  Spirit 
of  God. 

Then  Mary  breaks  out  into  that  sublime  canticle, 
the  Magnificat :  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord, 
and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour,  be 
cause  He  hath  regarded  the  humility  of  His  hand- 

1  Luke  i.  39-45. 


THE  BLESSED   VIRGIN  MARY.  211 

maid,  for  behold  from  henceforth  all  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed."  l  On  these  words  I  will  stop 
to  make  one  reflection. 

The  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  organ  of  Mary's 
chaste  lips,  prophesies  that  all  generations  shall  call 
her  blessed,  with  evident  approval  of  the  praise  she 
should  receive. 

Now  the  Catholic  is  the  only  Church  whose  chil 
dren,  generation  after  generation,  from  the  first  to 
the  present  century,  have  pronounced  her  blessed  ; 
and  of  all  Christians  in  this  land,  they  alone  con 
tribute  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy. 

Therefore  it  is  only  Catholics  that  earn  the  ap 
proval  of  heaven  by  fulfilling  the  prediction  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

Protestants  not  only  concede  that  we  bless  the 
name  of  Mary,  but  they  even  reproach  us  for  being 
too  lavish  in  our  praises  of  her. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  are  careful  to  exclude 
themselves  from  the  "  generations  "  that  were  des 
tined  to  call  her  blessed,  for,  in  speaking  of  her,  they 
almost  invariably  withhold  from  her  the  title  of 
blessed,  preferring  to  call  her  the  Virgin,  or  Mary  the 
Virgin,  or  the  Mother  of  Jesus.  And  while  Protestant 
churches  will  resound  with  the  praises  of  Sarah  and 
Rebecca  and  Rachel,  of  Miriam  and  Ruth,  of  Esther 
and  Judith  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  of  Elizabeth 
and  Anna,  of  Magdalen  and  Martha  of  the  New,  the 

1  Luke  i.  46-48. 


212  THE   FAITH    OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

name  of  Mary  the  Mother  of  Jesus  is  uttered  with 
bated  breath,  lest  the  sound  of  her  name  should  make 
the  preacher  liable  to  the  charge  of  superstition. 

The  piety  of  a  mother  usually  sheds  additional 
lustre  on  the  son,  and  the  halo  that  encircles  her  brow 
is  reflected  upon  his.  The  more  the  mother  is  ex 
tolled,  the  greater  honor  redounds  to  the  son.  And 
if  this  is  true  of  all  men  who  do  not  choose  their 
mothers,  how  much  more  strictly  may  it  be  affirmed 
of  Him  who  chose  His  own  Mother,  and  made  her 
Himself  such  as  He  would  have  her,  so  that  all  the 
glories  of  His  Mother  are  essentially  His  own.  And 
yet  we  daily  see  ministers  of  the  Gospel  ignoring 
Mary's  exalted  virtues  and  unexampled  privileges, 
and  parading  her  alleged  imperfections,  nay  sinful- 
ness,  as  if  her  Son  were  dishonored  by  the  piety,  and 
took  delight  in  the  defamation  of  His  Mother. 

Such  defamers  might  learn  a  lesson  from  one  who 
made  little  profession  of  Christianity. 

"  Is  thy  name  Mary,  maiden  fair  ? 

Such  should,  methinks,  its  music  be. 
The  sweetest  name  that  mortals  bear, 

Were  best  befitting  thee. 
And  she  to  whom  it  once  was  given, 
Was  half  of  earth  and  half  of  heaven." l 

Once  more  the  title  of  blessed  is  given  to  Mary. 
On  one  occasion  a  certain  woman  lifting  up  her  voice, 
Baid  to  Jesus,  "  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bore  thee, 

1  Oliver  W.  Holmes. 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  213 

and  the  paps  that  gave  thee  suck." '  It  is  true  that 
our  Lord  replied  :  "  Yea,  rather  (or  yea,  likewise), 
blessed  are  they  who  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep 
it."  It  would  be  an  unwarrantable  perversion  of 
the  sacred  text  to  infer  from  this  reply  that  Jesus 
intended  to  detract  from  the  praise  bestowed  on  His 
Mother.  His  words  may  be  thus  correctly  para 
phrased  :  She  is  blessed  indeed  in  being  the  chosen 
instrument  of  My  incarnation,  but  more  blessed  in 
keeping  My  word.  Let  others  be  comforted  in  know 
ing  that  though  they  cannot  share  with  My  mother 
in  the  privilege  of  her  maternity,  they  can  partici 
pate  with  her  in  the  blessed  reward  of  those  who 
hear  My  word  and  keep  it. 

In  the  preceding  passages  we  have  seen  Mary  de 
clared  blessed  on  four  different  occasions,  and  hence 
in  proclaiming  her  blessedness,  far  from  paying  her 
unmerited  honor,  we  are  but  re-echoing  the  Gospel 
verdict  of  saint  and  angel,  and  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
Himself. 

Wordsworth,  though  not  nurtured  within  the 
bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  conceives  a  true 
appreciation  of  Mary's  incomparable  holiness  in 
the  following  beautiful  lines  : 

"Mother!  whose  virgin  bosom  was  uncrossed 
With  the  least  shade  of  thought  to  sin  allied; 
Woman  !  above  all  women  glorified, 
Our  tainted  nature's  solitary  boast; 
Purer  than  foam  on  central  ocean  tost, 

1  Luke  xi.  27. 


214  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Brighter  than  eastern  skies  at  daybreak  strewn 
With  fancied  roses,  than  the  unblemished  moon 
Before  her  wane  begins  on  heaven's  blue  coast, 
Thy  image  falls  to  earth.     Yet  some,  I  ween, 
Not  unforgiven,  the  suppliant  knee  might  bend 
As  to  a  visible  power,  in  which  did  blend 
All  that  was  mixed  and  reconciled  in  thee 
Of  mother's  love  with  maiden  purity, 
Of  high  with  low,  celestial  with  serene." 

To  honor  one  who  has  been  the  subject  of  divine, 
angelic,  and  saintly  panegyric,  is  to  us  a  privilege, 
and  the  privilege  is  heightened  into  a  sacred  duty, 
when  we  remember  that  the  spirit  of  prophecy  fore 
told  that  she  should  ever  be  the  unceasing  theme  of 
Christian  eulogy  as  long  as  Christianity  itself  would 
exist. 

"  Honor  he  is  worthy  of,  whom  the  king  hath  a 
mind  to  honor." 1  The  King  of  kings  hath  honored 
Mary ;  His  divine  Son  did  not  disdain  to  be  subject 
to  her,  therefore  should  we  honor  her,  especially  as 
the  honor  we  pay  to  her  redounds  to  God,  the  source 
of  all  glory.  The  Royal  Prophet,  than  whom  no 
man  paid  higher  praise  to  God,  esteemed  the  friends 
of  God  worthy  of  all  honor  :  "  To  me,  Thy  friends, 
O  God,  are  made  exceedingly  honorable."2  Now 
the  dearest  friends  of  God  are  they  who  most  faith 
fully  keep  His  precepts :  "  You  are  My  friends,  if 
you  do'  the  things  that  I  command  you."3  Who 

1  Esther  vi.  11. 

2  Ps.  cxxxviii.  (In  Protestant  version,  Ps.  cxxxix.) 

3  John  xv.  14. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  215 

fulfilled  the  divine  precepts  better  than  Mary,  who 
kept  all  the  words  of  her  Son,  pondering  them  in 
her  heart  ?  "  If  any  man  minister  to  me,"  says  our 
Saviour,  "  him  will  My  Father  honor."  '  Who  min 
istered  more  constantly  to  Jesus  than  Mary,  who  dis 
charged  towards  Him  all  the  offices  of  a  tender 
mother  ? 

Heroes  and  statesmen  may  receive  the  highest 
military  and  civic  honors  which  a  nation  can  bestow, 
without  being  suspected  of  invading  the  domain  of 
the  glory  which  is  due  to  God.  Now,  is  not  heroic 
sanctity  more  worthy  of  admiration  than  civil  service 
and  military  exploits,  inasmuch  as  religion  ranks 
higher  than  patriotism  and  valor  ?  And  yet  the  ad 
mirers  of  Mary's  exalted  virtues  can  scarcely  cele 
brate  her  praises  without  being  accused  in  certain 
quarters  of  Mariolatry. 

When  a  nation  wishes  to  celebrate  the  memory  of 
its  distinguished  men,  its  admiration  is  not  confined 
to  words,  but  vents  itself  in  a  thousand  different 
shapes.  See  in  how  manv  ways  we  honor  the  mem 
ory  of  Washington.  Monuments  on  which  his  good 
deeds  are  recorded,  are  erected  to  his  name.  The 
grounds  where  his  remains  repose  on  the  banks  of 
the  Potomac,  are  kept  in  order  by  a  volunteer  band 
of  devoted  ladies,  who  adorn  the  place  with  flowers. 
And  this  cherished  spot  is  annually  visited  by  thou 
sands  of  pilgrims  from  the  most  remote  sections  of 

1  John  xii.  26. 


216  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

the  country.  These  visitors  will  eagerly  snatch  a 
flower,  or  a  leaf  from  a  shrub  growing  near  Wash 
ington's  tomb,  or  will  strive  even  to  clip  off  a  little 
shred  from  one  of  his  garments,  which  are  still  pre 
served  in  the  old  mansion,  and  these  they  will  bear 
home  with  them  as  precious  relics. 

I  have  always  observed  when  travelling  on  the 
missions  up  and  down  the  Potomac,  that  whenever 
the  steamer  came  to  the  point  opposite  Mount  Ver- 
non,  the  bell  was  tolled,  and  then  every  eye  was  di 
rected  towards  Washington's  grave. 

And  the  22d  of  February,  Washington's  birthday, 
is  kept  as  a  national  holiday,  at  least  in  certain  por 
tions  of  the  country.  I  well  remember  how  formerly 
the  military  and  the  fire  companies  paraded  the 
streets,  how  patriotic  speeches  recounting  the  heroic 
deeds  of  the  first  President  were  delivered,  the  fes 
tivities  of  the  day  closing  with  a  social  banquet. 

As  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  manifest  in 
divers  ways  their  admiration  for  Washington,  so  do 
the  citizens  of  the  republic  of  the  Church  love  to 
exhibit  in  corresponding  forms  their  veneration  for 
the  Mother  of  Jesus. 

Monuments  and  statues  are  erected  to  her.  Thrice 
each  day,  at  morn,  noon,  and  even,  the  Angelus 
bells  are  rung  to  recall  to  our  minds  the  Incarnation 
of  our  Lord,  and  the  participation  of  Mary  in  this 
great  mystery  of  love. 

Her  shrines  are  tastefully  adorned  by  pious  hands, 
and  are  visited  by  devoted  children  who  wear  her 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  217 

relics,  or  any  object  which  bears  her  image,  or  which 
is  associated  with  her  name. 

Her  natal  day  and  other  days  of  the  year,  sacred 
to  her  memory,  are  appropriately  commemorated  by 
processions,  by  participation  in  the  banquet  of  the 
Eucharist,  and  by  sermons  enlarging  on  her  virtues 
and  prerogatives. 

As  no  one  was  ever  suspected  of  loving  his  coun 
try  and  her  institutions  less  because  of  his  revering 
Washington,  so  no  one  can  reasonably  suppose  that 
our  homage  to  God  is  diminished  by  fostering  rev 
erence  for  Mary;  for,  as  our  o!)ject  in  eulogizing 
Washington  is  not  so  much  to  honor  the  man,  as  to 
vindicate  those  principles  of  which  he  was  the  cham 
pion  and  exponent,  and  to  express  our  gratitude 
to  God  for  the  blessings  bestowed  on  our  country 
through  him,  even  so  our  motive  in  commemorating 
Mary's  name  is  not  merely  to  praise  her,  but  still 
more  to  keep  us  in  perpetual  remembrance  of  our 
Lord's  Incarnation,  and  to  show  our  thankfulness  to 
Him  for  the  blessings  wrought  through  that  great 
mystery  in  which  she  was  so  prominent  a  figure. 
And  experience  sufficiently  demonstrates  that  the 
better  we  understand  the  part  which  Mary  has  taken 
in  the  work  of  redemption,  the  more  enlightened 
becomes  our  knowledge  of  our  Redeemer  Himself, 
and  that  the  greater  our  love  for  her,  the  deeper 
and  broader  is  our  devotion  to  Him  ;  while  expe 
rience  also  testifies  that  our  Saviour's  attributes 
become  more  confused  and  warped  in  the  minds  of 
19 


218  THE   FAITH    OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

a  people  in  proportion  as  they  ignore  Mary's  rela 
tions  to  Him. 

The  defender  of  a  beleaguered  citadel  concen 
trates  his  forces  on  the  outer  fortifications  and 
towers,  knowing  well  that  the  capture  of  these  out 
works  would  endanger  the  citadel  itself,  and  that 
their  safety  involves  its  security. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  citadel  of  our  faith,  the  strong 
hold  of  our  soul's  affections.  Mary  is  called  the 
"  Tower  of  David,"  and  the  gate  of  Sion  which  the 
Lord  loveth  more  than  all  the  tabernacles  of  Jacob,1 
and  which  He  entered  at  His  Incarnation. 

So  intimately  is  this  living  gate  of  Sion  connected 
with  Jesus,  the  temple  of  our  faith,  that  no  one  has 
ever  assailed  the  former  without  invading  the  latter. 
The  Nestorian  would  have  Mary  to  be  only  an  ordi 
nary  mother,  because  he  would  have  Christ, to  be  a 
mere  man. 

Hence,  if  we  rush  to  the  defence  of  the  gate  of 
Sion,  it  is  because  we  are  more  zealous  for  the  city 
of  God.  If  we  stand  as  sentinels  around  the  tower 
of  David,  it  is  because  we  are  more  earnest  in  pro 
tecting  Jerusalem  from  invasion.  If  we  forbid  pro 
fane  hands  to  touch  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  it  is 
because  we  are  anxious  to  guard  from  profanation 
the  Lord  of  the  ark.  If  we  are  so  solicitous  about 
Mary's  honor,  it  is  because  "  the  love  of  Christ  *' 
presseth  us.  If  we  will  not  permit  a  single  wreath 

1  Ps.  Ixxxvi. 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  219 

to  be  snatched  from  her  fair  brow,  it  is  because  we 
are  unwilling  that  a  single  feature  of  Christ's  sacred 
humanity  should  be  obscured,  and  because  we  wish 
that  He  should  ever  shine  forth  in  all  the  splendor 
of  His  glory,  and  clothed  in  all  the  panoply  of  His 
perfections. 

But  you  will  ask  :  Why  do  you  so  often  blend 
together  the  worship  of  God  and  the  veneration  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  ?  Why  such  exclamations  as, 
Blessed  be  Jesus  and  Mary?  Why  do  you  so  often 
repeat  in  succession  the  Lord's  prayer  and  the  An 
gelical  salutation  ?  Is  not  this  practice  calculated 
to  level  all  distinctions  between  the  Creator  and  His 
creature,  and  to  excite  the  displeasure  of  a  God  ever 
jealous  of  His  glory? 

Those  who  make  this  objection,  should  remember 
that  the  praises  of  the  Lord  and  of  His  Saints  are 
frequently  combined  in  Holy  Scripture  itself. 

Witness  Judith.  On  returning  from  the  tent  of 
Holofernes,  she  sang  :  "Praise  ye  the  Lord,  our  God, 
who  hath  not  forsaken  them  that  hope  in  Him,  and 
by  me  His  handmaid,  He  hath  fulfilled  His  mercy 
which  He  promised  to  the  house  of  Israel  .... 
And  Ozias  the  prince  of  the  people  of  Israel,  said  to 
her :  Blessed  art  thou,  0  daughter,  by  the  Lord  the 
most  high  God,  above  all  women  upon  the  earth. 
Blessed  be  the  Lord  who  made  heaven  and  earth.  .  . 
because  He  hath  so  magnified  thy  name  this  day,  that 
thy  praise  shall  not  depart  out  of  the  mouth  of  men." J 

1  Judith  xiii. 


220  THE   FAITH    OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Witness  Ecclesiasticus.  After  glorifying  God  for 
His  mighty  works,  he  immediately  sounds  the 
praises  of  Enoch  and  Noe,  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  of  Samuel  and  Nathan, 
of  David  and  Josias,  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and 
other  Kings  and  Prophets  of  Israel.1 

Elizabeth  in  the  same  breath,  exclaims:  "Blessed 
art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of 
thy  womb."2 

And  Mary  herself,  under  the  inspiration  of  heaven, 
cries  out :  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my 
spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour.  .  .  .  For, 
behold  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me 
blessed." 3  Here  are  the  names  of  Creator  and  crea 
ture  interwoven  like  threads  of  gold  and  silver  in 
the  same  woof,  without  provoking  the  jealousy  of 
God. 

God  jealous  of  the  honor  paid  to  Mary !  Will  a 
father  be  jealous  of  the  honor  paid  to  his  child? 
Will  an  architect  be  envious  of  the  praise  bestowed 
on  a  magnificent  temple  which  his  genius  planned 
and  reared?  Is  not  the  living  temple  of  Mary's 
heart  the  work  of  the  Supreme  Architect?  Must 
she  not  say  with  all  of  God's  creatures :  "  Thy  hands 
(O  Lord)  have  made  me  and  formed  me."  Is  it  not 
He  who  has  adorned  that  living  temple  with  those 
rare  beauties  which  we  so  much  admire?  Has  she 
not  declared  so  when  she  exclaimed :  "  He  that  is 

1  Eccles.  xliii.  et  seq.  2  Luke  i.  8  Ibid. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  221 

mighty,  hath  done  great  things  to  rue,  and  holy  is 
His  name  I"1 

God  jealous  of  the  honor  paid  to  Mary!  As 
well  might  we  imagine  that  the  sun,  if  endowed 
with  intelligence,  would  be  jealous  of  the  mellow, 
golden  cloud  which  encircles  him,  which  reflects  his 
brightness,  and  presents  in  bolder  light  his  inacces 
sible  splendor.  As  well  imagine  that  the  same 
luminary  would  be  jealous  of  our  admiration  for  the 
beautiful  rose,  whose  opening  petals,  and  rich  color 
and  delicious  fragrance  are  the  fruit  of  his  benefi 
cent  rays. 

Hence  in  uniting  Mary's  praise  with  that  of 
Jesus,  we  are  strictly  imitating  the  Sacred  Text; 
and  as  no  one  ever  suspected  that  the  encomiums 
pronounced  on  Judith  and  the  virtuous  Kings  and 
Prophets  of  Israel  detracted  from  God's  honor,  so 
neither  do  we  lessen  His  glory  in  exalting  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  I  find  Jesus  and  Mary  together 
at  the  manger,  together  in  Egypt,  together  in  Naza 
reth,  together  in  the  temple,  together  at  the  cross 
I  find  their  names  side  by  side  in  the  Apostles'  and 
the  Nicene  Creed.  It  is  fitting  that  both  should 
find  a  place  in  my  heart,  and  that  both  names  should 
often  flow  successively  from  my  lips.  Inseparable 
in  life  and  in  death,  they  should  not  be  divorced  in 
my  prayer.  "  What  God  hath  joined  together,  let 
not  man  put  asunder." 

1  Luke  i.  49. 
19* 


222  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

II. 

IS   IT   LAWFUL   TO   INVOKE   HER? 

The  Church  exhorts  her  children  not  only  to 
honor  the  Blessed  Virgin,  but  also  to  invoke  her 
intercession.  It  is  evident  from  Scripture,  that  the 
Angels  and  Saints  in  heaven  can  hear  our  prayers, 
and  that  they  have  the  power  and  the  will  to  help 
us.1  Now  if  the  angels  are  conversant  with  what 
happens  on  earth ;  if  the  Prophets,  even  while 
clothed  in  the  flesh,  had  a  clear  vision  of  things 
which  were  then  transpiring  at  a  great  distance 
from  them  ;  if  they  could  penetrate  into  the  future, 
and  foretell  events  which  were  then  hidden  in  the 
womb  of  time,  shall  we  believe  that  God  withholds 
a  knowledge  of  our  prayers  from  Mary,  who  is 
justly  styled  the  Queen  of  Angels  and  Saints?  For, 
as  Mary's  sanctity  surpasses  that  of  all  other  mor 
tals,  her  knowledge  must  be  proportionately  greater 
than  theirs,  since  knowledge  constitutes  one  of  the 
sources  of  celestial  bliss. 

If  Stephen,  while  his  soul  was  still  in  the  prison 
of  the  body,  "saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus 
standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God;"2  if  Paul 
"  heard  secret  words"3  spoken  in  paradise,  is  it  sur 
prising  that  Mary  hears  arid  sees  us,  now  that  she 

1  Gen.  xlviii.  16 ;  Tobias  xii.  12 ;  Luke  xv.  10 ;  Zach.  L 
12,  13. 
'Acts  vii.  55.  8 II.  Cor.  xii.  4. 


THE   BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  223 

is  elevated  to  heaven,  and  stands  "  face  to  face  "  be 
fore  God,  the  perfect  Mirror  of  all  knowledge?  It 
is  as  easy  for  God  to  enable  His  Saints  to  see  things 
terrestrial  from  heaven,  as  things  celestial  from 
earth. 

The  influence  of  Mary's  intercession  exceeds  that 
of  the  Angels,  Patriarchs,  and  Prophets,  in  the  same 
degree  that  her  sanctity  surpasses  theirs.  If  our 
heavenly  Father  listens  so  propitiously  to  the  voice 
of  His  servants,  what  will  He  refuse  to  her  who  is 
His  chosen  daughter  of  predilection,  chosen  among 
thousands  to  be  the  Mother  of  His  beloved  Son? 
If  we  ourselves,  though  sinners,  can  help  one 
another  by  our  prayers,  how  irresistible  must  be 
the  intercession  of  Mary,  who  never  grieved  Al 
mighty  God  by  sin,  who  never  tarnished  her  white 
robe  of  innocence  by  the  least  defilement,  from  the 
first  moment  of  her  existence  till  she  was  received 
by  triumphant  angels  into  heaven. 

In  speaking  of  the  patronage  of  the  Blessed  Vir 
gin,  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  her  title  of  Mother 
of  our  Redeemer,  nor  of  the  great  privileges  which 
that  prerogative  implies.  Mary  was  the  Mother  of 
Jesus.  She  exercised  towards  Him  all  the  influence 
which  a  prudent  mother  has  over  an  affectionate 
child.  "  Jesus,"  says  the  Gospel,  "  was  subject  to 
them,"1  that  is,  to  Mary  and- Joseph.  We  find  this 
obedience  of  our  Lord  towards  His  Mother  forcibly 
exemplified  at  the  marriage  feast  of  Cana.  Her 


224  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

wishes  are  delicately  expressed  in  these  words r 
"  They  have  no  wine."  He  instantly  obeys  her  by 
changing  water  into  wine,  though  the  time  for  exer 
cising  His  public  ministry  and  for  working  wonders 
had  not  yet  arrived. 

Now  Mary  has  never  forfeited  in  heaven  the  title 
of  Mother  of  Jesus.  She  is  still  His  Mother,  and 
while  adoring  Him  as  her  God,  she  still  retains  her 
maternal  relations,  and  He  exercises  towards  her 
that  loving  willingness  to  grant  her  requests  which 
the  best  of  sons  entertains  for  the  best  of  mothers. 

Never  does  Jesus  appear  to  us  so  amiable  and 
endearing  as  when  we  see  Him  nestled  in  the  arms 
of  His  Mother.  We  love  to  contemplate  Him, 
and  artists  love  to  represent  Him,  in  that  situation. 
And  it  appears  to  me  that  had  we  lived  in  Jerusalem 
in  His  day,  and  recognized,  like  Simeon,  the  Lord 
of  majesty  in  the  form  of  an  Infant,  and  had  we 
a  favor  to  ask  Him,  we  would  present  it  through 
Mary's  hands,  while  the  divine  eyes  of  the  Babe 
were  gazing  on  her  sweet  countenance.  And  even 
so  now.  Never  will  our  prayers  find  a  readier  ac 
ceptance  than  when  offered  through  her. 

In  invoking  our  Lady's  patronage,  we  are  act 
uated  by  a  triple  sense  of  the  majesty  of  God,,  our 
own  unworthiness,  and  of  Mary's  incomparable  in 
fluence  with  her  heavenly  Father.  Conscious  of  our 
uatural  lowliness  and  sins,  we  have  often  recourse  to 
her  intercession  in  the  assured  hope  of  being  more 
favorably  heard : 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  225 

"And  even  as  children  who  have  much  offended 
A  too  indulgent  father,  in  great  shame, 
Penitent,  and  yet  not  daring  unattended 
To  go  into  his  presence,  at  the  gate 
Speak  to  their  sister  and  confiding  wait 
Till  she  goes  in  before  and  intercedes ; 
So  men,  repenting  of  their  evil  deeds, 
And  yet  not  venturing  rashly  to  draw  near 
With  their  requests,  an  angry  Father's  ear, 
Offer  to  her  prayers  and  their  confession, 
And  she  in  heaven  for  them  makes  intercession." l 

Do  you  ask  me,  is  Mary  willing  to  assist  you? 
Does  she  really  take  an  interest  in  your  welfare? 
Or  is  she  so  much  absorbed  by  the  fruition  of  God 
as  to  be  indifferent  to  our  miseries?  "Can  a  woman 
forget  her  infant  so  as  not  to  have  pity  on  the  fruit 
of  her  womb?"2  Even  so  Mary  will  not  forget  us. 

The  love  she  bears  us,  her  children  by  adoption, 
can  be  estimated  only  by  her  love  for  her  Son  by 
nature.  It  was  Mary  that  nursed  the  Infant  Saviour. 
It  was  her  hands  that  clothed  Him.  It  was  her 
breast  that  sheltered  him  from  the  rude  storm  and 
from  the  persecution  of  Herod.  She  it  was  that 
wiped  the  stains  from  His  brow  when  taken  down 
from  the  cross.  Now  we  are  the  brothers  of  Jesus. 
He  is  not  ashamed,  says  the  Apostle,  to  call  us  His 
brethren.3  Neither  is  Mary  ashamed  to  call  us  her 
children  by  adoption.  At  the  foot  of  the  cross  she 
adopted  us  in  the  person  of  St.  John.  She  is  anx- 

1  Longfellow's  "  Golden  Legend."  2  Isaiah  xlix.  15. 

3Heb.  ii.  11. 

P 


226  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

ious  to  minister  to  our  souls  as  she  ministered  to 
the  corporal  wants  of  her  Son.  She  would  be  the 
instrument  of  God  in  feeding  us  with  divine  grace, 
in  clothing  us  with  the  garments  of  innocence,  in 
sheltering  us  from  the  storms  of  temptation,  in  wip 
ing  away  the  stains  of  sin  from  our  soul. 

If  the  angels,  though  of  a  different  nature  from 
ours,  have  so  much  sympathy  for  us  as  to  rejoice 
in  our  conversion,1  how  great  must  be  the  interest 
manifested  towards  us  by  Mary,  who  is  of  a  common 
nature  with  us,  descended  from  the  same  primitive 
parents,  being  bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our 
flesh,  and  who  once  trod  the  thorny  path  of  life 
which  we  tread  now ! 

Though  not  of  the  household  of  the  faith,  Edgar 
A.  Poe  did  not  disdain  to  invoke  our  Lady's  inter 
cession,  and  to  acknowledge  the  influence  of  her 
patronage  in  heaven. 

"  At  morn  —  at  noon  —  at  twilight  dim  — 
Maria!  thou  hast  heard  my  hymn; 
In  joy  and  woe  —  in  good  and  ill  — 
Mother  of  God,  be  with  me  still  1 
When  the  hours  flew  brightly  by, 
And  not  a  cloud  obscured  the  sky, 
My  soul,  lest  it  should  truant  be, 
Thy  grace  did  guide  to  thine  and  thee; 
Now,  when  storms  of  fate  o'ercast 
Darkly  my  present  and  my  past, 
Let  my  future  radiant  shine, 
With  sweet  hopes  of  thee  and  thine." 

1  Luke  xv.  7. 


THE    BLESSED   VIRGIN   MARY.  227 

Some  persons  not  only  object  to  the  invocation  of 
Mary  as  being  unprofitable,  but  they  even  affect  to 
be  scandalized  at  the  confidence  we  repose  in  her 
intercession,  on  the  groundless  assumption  that  by 
praying  to  her  we  ignore  and  dishonor  God,  and  that 
we  put  the  creature  on  a  level  with  the  Creator. 

Every  Catholic  child  knows  from  the  catechism 
that  to  give  to  any  creature  the  supreme  honor  due 
to  God  alone,  is  idolatry.  How  can  we  be  said  to  dis 
honor  God,  or  bring  Him  down  to  a  level  with  His 
creature  by  invoking  Mary,  since  we  acknowledge 
her  to  be  a  pure  creature  indebted  like  ourselves  to 
Him  for  every  gift  and  influence  which  she  possesses? 
This  is  implied  in  the  very  form  of  our  petitions. 

When  we  address  our  prayers  to  her,  we  say, 
Pray  for  us  sinners,  implying  by  these  words  that  she 
is  herself  a  petitioner  at  the  throne  of  divine  mercy. 
To  God  we  say,  Give  us  our  daily  bread,  thereby 
acknowledging  Him  to  be  the  source  of  all  bounty. 

This  principle  being  kept  in  view,  how  can  we  be 
justly  accused  of  slighting  God's  majesty  by  invok 
ing  the  intercession  of  His  handmaid  ? 

If  a  beggar  asks  and  receives  alms  from  me 
through  my  servant,  should  I  be  offended  at  the 
blessings  which  he  invokes  upon  her?  Far  from 
it.  I  accept  them  as  intended  for  myself,  because 
she  bestowed  what  was  mine,  and  with  my  consent. 

Our  Lord  says  to  His  Apostles :  "  I  dispose  to 
you  a  kingdom,  that  you  may  eat  and  drink  at  My 
table  in  My  kingdom,  and  may  sit  upon  thrones, 


228  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."1  And  St. 
Paul  says :  "  Know  you  not  that  we  shall  judge 
angels,  how  much  more  things  of  this  world?"1 
If  the  Apostles  may  sit  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  in 
heaven  without  prejudice  to  His  majesty,  surely  our 
Lady  can  stand  as  an  advocate  before  Him  without 
infringing  on  His  rights.  If  they  can  exercise  the 
dread  prerogative  of  judges  of  angels  and  of  men 
without  trespassing  on  the  divine  judgeship  of  Jesus, 
surely  Mary  can  fulfil  the  more  modest  function  of 
intercessor  with  her  Son  without  intruding  on  His 
supreme  mediatorship,  for,  higher  is  the  office  of 
judge  than  that  of  advocate.  And  yet  while  no 
one  is  ever  startled  at  the  power  given  to  the  Apos 
tles,  many  are  impatient  of  the  lesser  privilege 
claimed  for  Mary. 

III. 

IS   IT   LAWFUL   TO   IMITATE   HER   AS   A   MODEL? 

But  while  the  exalted  privileges  of  Mary  render 
her  worthy  of  our  veneration,  while  her  saintly  in 
fluence  renders  her  worthy  of  our  invocation,  hei 
personal  life  is  constantly  held  up  to  us  as  a  pattern 
worthy  of  our  imitation.  And  if  she  occupies  so  prom 
inent  a  place  in  our  pulpits,  this  prominence  is  less 
due  to  her  prerogatives  as  a  mother,  or  to  her  inter 
cession  as  a  patroness,  than  to  her  example  as  a  saint. 

After  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  no  one  has  ever  ex- 
trcised  so  salutary  and  so  dominant  an  influence  a? 

1  Luke  xxii.  29,  30.  2I.  v^r   n. 


THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  229 

the  Blessed  Virgin  on  society,  on  the  family,  and  on 
the  individual. 

The  Mother  of  Jesus  exercises  throughout  the 
Christian  commonwealth  that  hallowing  influence 
which  a  good  mother  wields  over  the  Christian  family. 

What  temple  or  chapel,  how  rude  soever  it  may 
be,  is  not  adorned  with  a  painting  or  a  statue  of  the 
Madonna  ?  What  house  is  not  embellished  with  an 
image  of  Mary  ?  What  Catholic  child  is  a  stranger 
to  her  familiar  face? 

The  priest  and  the  layman,  the  scholar  and  the 
illiterate,  the  prince  and  the  peasant,  the  mother 
and  the  maid,  acknowledge  her  benign  sway. 

And  if  Christianity  is  so  fruitful  in  comparison 
with  paganism,  in  conjugal  fidelity,  in  female  purity, 
and  in  the  respect  which  is  paid  to  womanhood, 
these  blessings  are  in  no  small  measure  due  to  the 
force  of  Mary's  all-pervading  influence  and  example. 
Ever  since  the  Son  of  God  chose  a  woman  to  be  His 
mother,  man  looks  up  to  woman  with  a  homage  akin 
to  veneration. 

The  poet  Longfellow  pays  the  following  tribute  to 
Mary's  sanctifying  influence : 

"  This  is  indeed  the  blessed  Mary's  land, 
Virgin  and  Mother  of  our  dear  Redeemer! 
All  hearts  are  touched  and  softened  at  her  name; 
Alike  the  bandit  with  the  bloody  hand, 
The  priest,  the  prince,  the  scholar  and  the  peasant, 
The  man  of  deeds,  the  visionary  dreamer, 
Pay  homage  to  her  as  one  ever  present ! 

20 


230  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR    FATHERS. 

And  if  our  faith  had  given  us  nothing  more 

Than  this  example  of  all  womanhood, 

So  mild,  so  merciful,  so  strong,  so  good, 

So  patient,  peaceful,  loyal,  loving,  pure, 

This  were  enough  to  prove  it  higher  and  truer 

Than  all  the  creeds  the  world  had  known  before."  * 

St.  Ambrose  gives  us  the  following  beautiful  pic 
ture  of  Mary's  life  before  her  espousals :  "  Let  the 
life,"  he  says,  "  of  the  Blessed  Mary  be  ever  present 
to  you,  in  which,  as  in  a  mirror,  the  beauty  of  chas 
tity  and  the  form  of  virtue  shine  forth.  She  was  a 
virgin  not  only  in  body,  but  in  mind,  who  never 
sullied  the  pure  affection  of  her  heart  by  unworthy 
feelings.  She  was  humble  of  heart,  serious  in  her 
conversation,  fonder  of  reading  than  of  speaking. 
She  placed  her  confidence  rather  in  the  prayer  of 
the  poor  than  in  the  uncertain  riches  of  this  world. 
She  was  ever  intent  on  her  occupations,  .  .  .  and 
accustomed  to  make  God  rather  than  man  the  wit 
ness  of  her  thoughts.  She  injured  no  one,  wished 
well  to  all,  reverenced  age,  yielded  not  to  envy, 
avoided  all  boasting,  followed  the  dictates  of  reason, 
and  loved  virtue.  When  did  she  sadden  her  par 
ents  even  by  a  look?  .  .  .  There  was  nothing  for 
ward  in  her  looks,  bold  in  her  words,  or  unbecom 
ing  in  her  actions.  Her  carriage  was  not  abrupt, 
her  gait  not  indolent,  her  voice  not  petulant,  so  that 
her  very  appearance  was  the  picture  of  her  mind 
and  the  figure  of  piety." 

1  Longfellow's  "  Golden  Legend." 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN   MARY.  231 

Her  life  as  a  spouse  and  as  a  mother  was  a  coun 
terpart  of  her  earlier  years.  The  Gospel  relates 
one  little  circumstance  which  amply  suffices  to  dem 
onstrate  Mary's  supereminent  holiness  of  life,  and 
to  exhibit  her  as  a  beautiful  pattern  to  those  who 
are  called  to  rule  a  household.  The  Evangelist 
tells  us  that  Jesus  "  was  subject  to  them,"  l  that  is, 
to  Mary  and  Joseph.  He  obeyed  all  her  commands, 
fulfilled  her  behests,  complied  with  her  smallest  in 
junctions.  In  a  word,  He  discharged  towards  her 
all  the  filial  observances  which  a  dutiful  son  exer 
cises  towards  a  prudent  mother.  And  these  rela 
tions  continued  from  His  childhood  to  His  public 
life ;  nor  did  they  cease  even  then. 

Now  Jesus  being  the  Son  of  God,  "  the  bright 
ness  of  His  glory  and  the  figure  of  His  substance,"1 
could  not  sin.  He  was  incapable  of  fulfilling  an 
unrighteous  precept.  The  obvious  conclusion  to  be 
drawn  from  these  facts  is,  that  Mary  never  sinned 
by  commanding,  as  Jesus  could  not  sin  by  obeying; 
that  all  her  precepts  and  counsels  were  stamped 
with  the  seal  of  divine  approbation,  and  that  the 
Son  never  fulfilled  any  injunction  of  His  earthly 
Mother  which  was  not  ratified  by  His  eternal 
father  in  heaven. 

Such  is  the  beautiful  portrait  which  the  Church 
holds  up  to  the  contemplation  of  her  children,  that 
studying  it  they  may'admire  the  original,  admiring 
they  may  love,  loving  may  imitate,  and  thus  be- 

'Lukeii.  51.  2Heb.  i.  3. 


232  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

come  more  dear  to  God  by  being  made  "  conforma 
ble  to  the  image  of  His  Son,"1  of  whom  Mary  is 
the  most  perfect  mirror. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SACRED   IMAGES. 

THE  veneration  of  the  images  of  Christ  and  His 
saints  is  a  cherished  devotion  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  this  practice  will  be  vindicated  in  the 
following  lines. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  making  of  holy  images 
was  not  so  general  among  the  Jews  as  it  is  among 
us,  because  the  Hebrews  themselves  were  prone  to 
idolatry,  and  because  they  were  surrounded  by 
idolatrous  people  who  might  misconstrue  the  pur 
pose  for  which  the  images  were  intended.  For  the 
same  prudential  reasons,  the  primitive  Christians 
were  very  cautious  in  making  images,  and  very 
circumspect  in  exposing  them  to  the  gaze  of  the 
heathen  among  whom  they  lived,  lest  Christian 
inmges  should  be  confounded  with  Pagan  idols. 

The  catacombs  of  Rome,  to  which  the  faithful 
alone  were  admitted,  abounded,  however,  in  sacred 
emblems  and  pious  representations,  which  are  pre 
served  even  to  this  day,  and  attest  the  practice  of 
the  early  Christian  Church.  You  could  see  there 
painted  on  the  walls,  or  on  vases  of  glass,  the  Dove, 
the  emblem  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  Christ  carrying 

"Rom.  viii.  29. 


SACRED   IMAGES.  233 

His  cross,  or  bearing  on  His  shoulders  the  lost 
sheep.  You  could  also  meet  with  the  Lamb,  and 
an  anchor,  and  a  ship,  appropriate  types  of  oui 
Lord,  of  hope,  and  of  the  Church. 

The  first  crusade  against  images  was  waged  in 
the  eighth  century  by  Leo  the  Isaurian,  Emperur 
of  Constantinople.  He  commanded  the  paintings 
of  oar  Lord  and  His  saints  to  be  torn  down  from 
the  church  walls,  and  to  be  burnt.  He  even 
invaded  the  sanctuary  of  home,  and  snatched  from 
thence  the  sacred  emblems  which  adorned  private 
residences.  He  caused  the  statues  of  bronze,  silver, 
and  gold  to  be  melted  down,  and  conveniently  con 
verted  them  into  coins,  upon  which  his  own  image 
was  stamped.  Like  Henry  VIII.  and  Cromwell, 
this  royal  Iconoclast  affected  to  be  moved  by  a 
zeal  for  purity  of  worship,  while  avarice  was  the 
real  motive  of  his  action. 

The  Emperor  commanded  the  learned  librarians 
of  his  imperial  library  to  give  public  approbation  to 
his  decrees  against  images ;  and  when  those  consci 
entious  men  refused  to  endorse  his  course,  they  were 
all  confined  in  the  imperial  library,  the  building 
was  set  on  fire,  and  thirty  thousand  volumes,  the 
splendid  basilica  which  contained  them,  innumer 
able  paintings,  and  the  librarians  themselves,  were 
all  involved  in  one  common  destruction. 

Constantine  Copronymus  prosecuted  the  vandal 
ism  of  Leo,  his  predecessor.  Stephen,  an  intrepid 
monk,  presented  to  the  Emperor  a  coin  bearing 
20* 


234  THE   FAITH   OF   OUE,   FATHERS. 

that  tyrant's  effigy,  with  these  words:  "Sire,  whose 
image  is  this?"  "It  is  mine,"  replied  the  Em 
peror.  The  monk  then  threw  down  the  piece  of 
money  and  trampled  it.  He  was  instantly  seized 
by  the  imperial  attendants,  and  soon  after  put 
to  a  painful  death.  "Alas!"  cried  the  holy  man 
to  the  Emperor ;  "  if  I  am  punished  for  dishonor 
ing  the  image  of  a  mortal  monarch,  what  punish 
ment  do  they  deserve  who  burn  the  image  of  Jesus 
Christ?" 

The  demolition  of  images  was  revived  by  the  Re 
formers  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Paintings  and 
statues  were  ruthlessly  destroyed,  chiefly  in  the 
British  Isles,  Germany,  and  Holland,  under  the 
pretext  that  the  making  of  them  was  idolatrous. 
But  as  the  Iconoclasts  of  the  eighth  century  had 
no  scruple  about  appropriating  to  their  own  use 
the  gold  and  silver  of  the  statues  which  they 
melted,  neither  had  the  Iconoclasts  of  the  six 
teenth  century  any  hesitation  in  confiscating  and 
worshipping  in  the  idolatrous  churches  whose  stat 
ues  and  paintings  they  broke  and  disfigured. 

A  stranger  who  visits  some  of  the  desecrated  Cath 
olic  churches  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent 
which  are  now  used  as  Protestant  temples,  cannot 
fail  to  notice  the  mutilated  statues  of  the  saints  still 
standing  in  their  niches. 

This  barbaric  warfare  against  religious  memorials 
was  not  only  a  grievous  sacrilege,  but  an  outrage 
against  the  fine  arts ;  and  had  the  destroying  angels 


SACRED  IMAGES.  235 

extended  their  ravages  over  Europe,  the  immortal 
works  of  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  would  be 
lost  to  us  to-day. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church  regarding 
the  use  of  sacred  images,  is  clearly  and  fully  ex 
pressed  by  the  General  Council  of  Trent  in  the  fol 
lowing  words :  "  The  images  of  Christ,  and  of  His 
Virgin  Mother,  and  of  other  Saints,  are  to  be  had 
and  retained,  especially  in  churches ;  and  a  due 
honor  and  veneration  is  to  be  given  to  them :  not 
that  any  divinity  or  virtue  is  believed  to  be  in 
them,  for  which  they  are  to  be  honored,  or  that 
any  prayer  is  ta  be  made  to  them,  or  that  any 
confidence  is  to  m  placed  in  them,  as  was  formerly 
done  by  the  heathens,  who  placed  their  hopes  in 
idols ;  but  because  the  honor  which  is  given  them 
is  referred  to  the  originals  which  they  represent, 
so  that  by  the  images  which  we  kiss,  and  before 
which  we  uncover  our  heads  or  kneel,  we  adore 
Christ,  and  venerate  His  saints,  whose  likeness 
they  represent."  l 

Every  Catholic  child  clearly  comprehends  the  es 
sential  difference  which  exists  between  a  Pagan  idol 
and  a  Christian  image.  The  Pagans  looked  upon 
an  idol  as  a  god  endowed  with  intelligence,  and 
the  other  attributes  of  the  Deity.  They  were, 
therefore  idolaters,  or  image  worshippers.  Catholic 
Christiars  know  that  a  holy  image  has  no  intelli- 

1  Seas.  xxv. 


236  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

gence  or  power  to  hear  and  help  them.  But  thev 
pay  it  a  relative  respect;  that  is,  their  reverence 
for  the  copy  is  proportioned  to  the  veneration 
which  they  entertain  for  the  heavenly  original,  to 
which  it  is  also  referred. 

For  the  sake  of  my  Protestant  readers,  I  may 
here  quote  their  own  great  Leibnitz  on  the  rever 
ence  paid  to  sacred  images.  He  says,  in  his  Sys- 
tema  Theologicum,  p.  142 :  "  Though  we  speak  of 
the  honor  paid  to  images,  yet  this  is  only  a  man 
ner  of  speaking,  which  really  means  that  we  honor 
not  the  senseless  thing  which  is  incapable  of  under 
standing  such  honor,  but  the  p^totype,  which  re 
ceives  honor  through  its  representation,  according 
to  the  teaching  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  It  is  in 
this  sense,  I  take  it,  that  scholastic  writers  have 
spoken  of  the  same  worship  being  paid  to  images 
of  Christ  as  to  Christ  our  Lord  himself;  for  the 
act  which  is  called  the  worship  of  an  image  is 
really  the  worship  of  Christ  himself,  through  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  image  and  by  occasion  of 
it ;  by  the  inclination  of  the  body  towards  it  as  to 
Christ  himself,  as  rendering  Him  more  manifestly 
present,  and  raising  the  mind  more  actively  to  the 
contemplation  of  Him.  Certainly,  no*  sane  man 
thinks,  under  such  circumstances,  of  praying  in 
this  wise  :  '  Give  me,  O  image,  what  I  ask  ;  to  tiiee, 
O  marble  or  wood,  I  give  thanks ; '  but  *  Thee,  O 
Lord,  I  adore;  to  Thee  I  give  thanks,  and  sing 
songs  of  praise.'  Given,  then,  that  there  is  no 


SACRED  IMAGES.  237 

other  veneration  of  images  than  that  which  means 
veneration  of  their  prototype,  there  is  surely  no 
more  idolatry  in  it  than  there  is  in  the  respect 
shown  in  the  utterance  of  the  Most  Holy  Names 
of  God  and  Christ;  for,  after  all,  names  are  but 
signs  or  symbols,  and  even,  as  such,  inferior  to 
images,  for  they  represent  much  less  vividly.  So 
that  when  there  is  question  of  honoring  images, 
this  is  to  be  understood  in  the  same  way  as  when 
it  is  said  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
shall  bend,  or  that  the  name  of  the  Lord  is  blessed, 
or  that  glory  be  given  to  His  Name.  Thus,  the 
bowing  before  an  image  outside  of  us  is  no  more 
to  be  reprehended  than  the  worshipping  before 
an  internal  image  in  our  own  minds ;  for  the  ex 
ternal  image  does  but  serve  the  purpose  of  expres 
sing  visibly  that  which  is  internal." 

In  the  Book  of  Exodus,  we  read:  "Thou  shalt 
not  make  to  thyself  a  graven  thing,  nor  the  likeness 
of  any^ing  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth 
beneath,  nor  of  those  things  that  are  in  the  waters 
under  the  earth.  Thou  shalt  not  adore  them  nor 
serve  them." l  Protestants  contend  that  these  words 
contain  an  absolute  prohibition  against  the  making 
of  images  ;  while  the  Catholic  Church  insists  that 
the  commandment  referred  to  merely  prohibits  us 
from  worshipping  them  as  gods. 

The  text  cannot  mean  the  absolute  prohibition 
of  making  images ;  for  in  that  case  God  would 

1  Chap.  xx. 


238  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

contradict  Himself,  by  commanding  in  one  part  of 
Scripture  what  He  condemns  in  another.  In  Ex 
odus  (xxv.  18),  for  instance,  He  commands  two 
cherubim  of  beaten  gold  to  be  made  and  placed 
on  each  side  of  the  oracle ;  and  in  Numbers  (xxi, 
8)  He  commands  Moses  to  make  a  brazen  serpent, 
and  to  set  it  up  for  a  sign,  that  "  whosoever  being 
struck  by  the  fiery  serpents  shall  look  upon  it,  shall 
live."  Are  not  cherubim  and  serpents  the  likenesses 
of  creatures  in  heaven  above,  in  the  earth  beneath,  and 
in  the  waters  under  the  earth  ?  for  cherubim  dwell 
in  heaven,  and  serpents  are  found  on  land  and  sea. 

We  should  all,  without  exception,  break  the  com 
mandment,  were  we  to  take  it  in  the  Protestant 
sense.  Have  you  not  at  home  the  portraits  of  liv 
ing  and  departed  relatives?  And  are  not  these  the 
likenesses  of  persons  in  heaven  above,  and  on  the 
earth  beneath? 

Westminster  Abbey,  though  once  a  Catholic  Cath 
edral,  is  now  a  Protestant  house  of  worship.  It  is 
filled  with  the  statues  of  illustrious  men ;  yet  no  one 
will  accuse  the  English  church  of  idolatry  in  allow 
ing  those  statues  to  remain  there.  But  you  will  say : 
The  worshippers  in  Westminster  have  no  intention 
of  adoring  these  statues.  Neither  have  we  any  in 
tention  of  worshipping  the  statues  of  the  saints.  An 
English  Parson  once  remarked  to  a  Catholic  friend: 
"Tom,  don't  you  pray  to  images?"  "We  pray  be 
fore  them,"  replied  Tom ;  "but  we  have  no  inten 
tion  of  praying  to  them."  "Who  cares  for  youi 


SACRED  IMAGES.  239 

intention,'"  retorted  the  Parson.  "  Don't  you  pray 
at  night  ?  "  observed  Tom.  "  Ye|,"  said  the  Parson ; 
"  I  pray  at  my  bed."  "  Yes  ;  you  pray  to  the  bed 
post."  "  Oh,  no ! "  said  the  reverend  gentleman  ; 
"I  have  no  intention  of  doing  that."  "Who  cares," 
replied  Tom,  "  for  your  intention." 

The  moral  rectitude  or  depravity  of  our  actions 
cannot  be  determined  without  taking  into  account 
the  intention. 

There  are  many  persons  who  have  been  taught 
in  the  nursery  tales  that  Catholics  worship  idols. 
These  persons,  if  they  visit  Europe,  and  see  an  old 
man  praying  before  an  image  of  our  Lord  or  a  Ma 
donna,  which  is  placed  along  the  wayside,  are  at 
once  confirmed  in  their  prejudices.  Their  zeal 
against  idols  takes  fire,  and  they  write  home,  add 
ing  one  more  proof  of  idolatry  against  the  be 
nighted  Komanists.  If  these  superficial  travellers 
had  only  the  patience  to  question  the  old  man,  he 
would  iell  them,  with  simplicity  of  faith,  that  the 
statue  had  no  life  to  hear  or  help  him,  but  that  its 
contemplation  inspired  him  with  greater  reverence 
for  the  original. 

As  I  am  writing  for  the  information  of  Protest 
ants,  I  quote  with  pleasure  the  following  passage, 
written  by  one  of  their  own  theologians,  in  the  En- 
cyclopedic  (Edit.  d'Yverdun,  torn.  1,  art.  Adorer) : 

"  When  Lot  prostrates  himself  before  the  two  an 
gels,  it  is  an  act  of  courtesy  towards  honored  guests; 
when  Jacob  bows  down  before  Esau,  it  is  an  act  of 


240  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

deference  from  a  younger  to  an  elder  brother,  when 
Solomon  bows  low  feefore  Bethsabee,  it  is  the  bonor 
which  a  son  pays  to  his  mother;  when  INathan, 
coming  in  before  David,  '  had  worshipped,  bowing 
down  to  the  ground/  it  is  the  homage  of  a  subject 
to  his  prince.  But  when  a  man  prostrates  himself 
in  prayer  to  God,  it  is  the  creature  adoring  the  Cre 
ator.  And  if  these  various  actions  are  expressed, 
sometimes  by  the  word  adore,  sometimes  by  worship 
or  prostration,  it  is  not  the  bare  meaning  of  the  word 
which  has  guided  interpreters  in  rendering  it,  but 
the  nature  of  the  case.  When  an  Israelite  pros 
trated  himself  before  the  king,  no  one  thought  of 
charging  him  with  idolatry.  If  he  had  done  the 
same  thing  in  the  presence  of  an  idol,  the  very 
same  bodily  act  would  have  been  called  idolatry. 
And  why?  Because  all  men  would  have  judged 
by  his  action  that  he  regarded  the  idol  as  a  real 
divinity,  and  that  he  would  express,  in  respect  to 
it,  the  sentiments  manifested  by  adoration^  in  the 
limited  sense  which  we  give  to  the  word.  What 
shall  we  think,  then,  of  what  Catholics  do  to  show 
honor  to  saints,  to  relics,  to  the  wood  of  the  cross? 
They  will  not  deny  that  their  acts  of  reverence,  in 
such  cases,  are  very  much  like  those  by  which  they 
pay  outward  honor  to  God.  But  have  they  the 
same  'ideas  about  the  saints,  the  relics,  and  the 
cross,  as  they  have  about  God  ?  I  believe  that  we 
cannot  fairly  accuse  them  of  it." 

A  gentleman  who  was  present  at  the  unveiling  of 


SACRED  IMAGES.  24i 

Gay's  statue  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  informed  me 
that  as  soon  as  the  curtain  was  uplifted,  and  the 
noble  form  of  the  Kentucky  statesman  appeared  in 
full  view,  the  immense  concourse  of  spectators  in 
stinctively  uncovered  their  heads.  "Why  do  you 
take  off  your  hat?"  playfully  remarked-  my  friend 
to  an  acquaintance  who  stood  by.  "  In  honor,  of 
course,  of  Henry  Clay,"  he  replied.  "  But  Henry 
is  not  there  in  the  flesh.  You  see  nothing  but  day" 
"  But  my  intention,  sir,"  he  continued,  "  is  to  do 
honor  to  the  original."  He  answered  correctly. 
And  yet  how  many  of  the  same  people  would  be 
shocked,  if  they  saw  a  man  take  off  his  hat  in  pres 
ence  of  a  statue  of  St.  Peter  ?  It  is  not,  therefore, 
the  making  of  the  image,  but  its  worship,  that  is 
condemned  by  the  Decalogue. 

Having  seen  the  lawfulness  of  sacred  images,  let 
us  now  consider  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
their  use. 

1.  Eeligiow  paintings  embellish  ike  house  of  God. 
What  is  more  becoming  than  to  adorn  the  church, 
which  is  the  shadow  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
so  beautifully  described  by  St.  John?1  Solomon 
decorated  the  temple  of  God  with  images  of  cher 
ubim,  and  other  representations.  "And  he  over 
laid  the  cherubim  with  gold.  And  all  the  walls 
of  the  temple  round  about  he  carved  with  di 
vers  figures  and  carvings."2  If  it  was  meet  and 
proper  to  adorn  Solomon's  temple,  which  contained 

1  Apoc.  xxi.  2  III.  Kings  vi. 

21  Q 


242  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

only  the  Ark  of  the  Lord,  how  much  more  fitting 
is  it  to  decorate  our  churches,  which  contain  the 
Lord  of  the  Ark?  When  I  see  a  church  tastefully 
ornamented,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  the  Master  is  at 
home,  and  that  His  devoted  subjects  pay  homage  to 
Him  in  His  court 

What  beauty,  what  variety,  what  charming  pic 
tures  are  presented  to  our  view  in  this  temple  of 
nature  which  we  inhabit !  Look  at  the  canopy  of 
heaven.  Look  at  the  exquisite  pictures  painted  by 
the  hand  of  the  divine  Artist  on  this  earth.  "  Con 
sider  the  lilies  of  the  field I  say  to  you  that 

not  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  arrayed  as 
one  of  these."  If  the  temple  of  nature  is  so  richly 
adorned,  should  not  our  temples  made  with  hands 
bear  some  resemblance  to  it? 

How  many  professing  Christians  must,  like  David, 
reproach  themselves  for  "  dwelling  in  a  house  of 
cedar,  while  the  ark  of  God  is  lodged  with  skins."1 
How  many  are  there  whose  private  apartments  are 
adorned  with  exquisite  paintings,  who  affect  to  be 
scandalized  at  the  sight  of  a  single  pious  emblem  in 
their  houses  of  worship?  On  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  Henry  W.  Beecher's  silver  wedding, 
several  wealthy  members  of  his  congregation  adorned 
the  walls  of  Plymouth  church  with  their  private 
paintings,  Their  object,  of  course,  in  doing  so  wag 
not  to  honor  God,  but  their  Pastor.  But  if  the 
portraits  of  men  were  no  desecration  to  that  church, 

1 II.  Kings  vii.  2. 


SACKED  IMAGES.  243 

how  can  the  portraits  of  saints  desecrate  ours?1 
And  what  can  be  more  appropriate  than  to  surround 
the  Sanctuary  of  Jesus  Christ  with  the  portraits  of 
the  saints,  especially  of  Mary  and  of  the  Apostles, 
who,  in  their  life,  ministered  to  His  sacred  person  ? 
And  is  it  not  natural  for  children  to  adorn  their 
homes  with  the  likenesses  of  their  Fathers  in  the 
faith  ? 

2.  Religious  paintings  are  the  catechism  of  the 
ignorant.  In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  Church  and 
State  in  the  cause  of  education,  a  great  proportion 
of  the  human  race  will  be  found  illiterate.  De 
scriptive  pictures  will  teach  those  what  books  make 
known  to  the  learned. 

How  many  thousands  would  have  died  ignorant 
of  the  Christian  faith,  if  they  had  not  been  en 
lightened  by  paintings !  When  Augustine,  the 
Apostle  of  England,  first  appeared  before  King 
Ethelbert,  to  announce  to  him  the  Gospel,  a  silver 
crucifix,  and  a  painting  of  our  Saviour,  were  borne 
before  the  preacher;  and  these  images  spoke  more 
tenderly  to  the  eyes  than  his  words  to  the  ears  of 
his  audience. 

By  means  of  religious  emblems,  St.  Francis  Xavier 
effected  many  conversions  in  India;  and  by  the  same 
means  Father  De  Smet  made  known  the  Gospel  to 
the  savages  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

lAt  the  Washington  and  Lee  University,  Lexington.  Va., 
in  the  sanctuary  of  the  chapel,  the  portrait  of  an  opulent  bene 
factor  holds  a  conspicuous  place. 


244  THE  FAITH  OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

8.  By  exhibiting  religious  paintings  in  our  roomsv 
we  make  a  silent,  though  eloquent,  profession  of  out 
faith.  I  once  called  on  a  gentleman  in  a  distant 
city,  some  time  during  our  late  war,  and,  on  entering 
his  library,  I  noticed  two  portraits,  one  of  a  dis 
tinguished  general,  the  other  of  an  archbishop, 
These  portraits  at  once  proclaimed  to  me  the  re 
ligious  and  patriotic  sentiments  of  the  propri 
etor  of  the  house.  "  Behold ! "  he  said  to  me, 
pointing  to  the  pictures,  "  my  religious  creed  and 
my  political  creed."  If  I  see  a  crucifix  iu  a 
man's  room,  I  am  convinced  at  once  that  he  is 
not  an  infidel. 

4.  By  the  aid  of  sacred  pictures,  our  devotion  and 
love  for  the  original  are  intensified,  because  we  can  con 
centrate  our  thoughts  more  intently  on  the  object  of  our 
affections.  Mark  how  the  eye  of  a  tender  child 
glistens  on  confronting  the  painting  of  an  affection 
ate  mother.  What  Christian  can  stand  unmoved, 
when  contemplating  a  picture  of  the  Mother  of  Sor 
rows?  How  much  devotion  has  been  fostered  by 
the  stations  of  the  cross?  Observe  the  intense 
sympathy  depicted  on  the  face  of  the  humble  Chris 
tian  woman  as  she  silently  passes  from  one  station 
to  another.  She  follows  her  Saviour  step  by  step 
from  the  Garden  to  Mount  Calvary.  The  whole 
scene,  like  a  panoramic  view,  is  imprinted  on  her 
mind,  her  memory,  and  her  affections.  Never  did 
the  most  pathetic  sermon  on  the  Passion  enkindle 
such  heartfelt  love,  or  evoke  such  salutary  resolu- 


BACKED  IMAGES.  245 

tions,  as  have  been  produced  by  the  silent  spectacle 
of  our  Saviour  hanging  on  the  cross. 

5,  The  portraits  of  the  saints  stimulate  us  to  the  imi* 
tation  of  their  virtues ;  and  this  is  the  principal  aim 
which  the  Church  has  in  view  in  encouraging  the 
use  of  pious  representations.  One  object,  it  is  true, 
is  to  honor  the  saints ;  another  is  to  invoke  them : 
but  the  principal  end  is  to  incite  us  to  an  imitation 
of  their  holy  lives.  We  are  exhorted  to  "  look  and 
do  according  to  the  pattern  shown  us  on  the  mount."1 
Nor  do  I  know  a  better  means  for  promoting  piety 
than  by  example. 

If  you  keep  at  home  the  likenesses  of  George 
Washington,  of  Patrick  Henry,  of  Chief- Justice 
Taney,  or  of  other  distinguished  men,  the  copies 
of  such  eminent  originals  cannot  fail  to  exercise  a 
salutary  though  silent  influence  on  the  mind  and 
heart  of  your  child.  Your  son  will  ask  you  :  Who 
are  those  men  ?  And  when  you  tell  him :  This  is 
Washington,  the  Father  of  his  Country ;  this  is 
Patrick  Henry,  the  ardent  lover  of  civil  liberty; 
and  this  is  Taney,  the  incorruptible  Judge,  your 
boy  will  imperceptibly  imbibe  not  only  a  venera 
tion  for  those  men,  but  a  relish  for  the  civic  vir 
tues  for  which  they  were  conspicuous.  And  in 
like  manner,  when  our  children  have  constantly 
before  their  eyes  the  purest  and  most  exalted  mod 
els  of  sanctity,  they  cannot  fail  to  draw  from  such  a 

1  Exod.  xxv.  40. 

21* 


246  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

contemplation  a  taste  for  the  virtues  which  marked 
the  lives  of  the  originals. 

Is  not  our  country  flooded  with  obscene  pictures 
and  immodest  representations  which  corrupt  our 
youth  ?  If  the  agents  of  Satan  employ  such  vile 
means  for  a  bad  end ;  if  they  are  cunning  enough 
to  pour  through  the  senses,  into  the  hearts  of  the 
unwary,  the  insidious  poison  of  sin,  by  placing  be 
fore  them  lascivious  portraits ;  in  God's  name,  why 
should  not  we  sanctify  the  souls  of  our  children  by 
means  of  pious  emblems?  Why  should  not  we  make 
the  eye  the  instrument  of  edification,  as  the  enemy 
makes  it  the  organ  of  destruction  ?  Shall  the  pen 
of  the  artist,  the  pencil  of  the  painter,  and  the  chisel 
of  the  sculptor  be  prostituted  to  the  basest  purposes? 
God  forbid  !  The  arts  were  intended  to  be  the  hand 
maids  of  religion. 

Almost  every  moment  of  the  day  the  eye  is  re 
ceiving  impressions  from  outward  objects,  and  is 
instantly  communicating  these  impressions  to  the 
soul ;  and  thus  the  soul  receives  every  day  thou 
sands  of  impressions,  which  are  good  or  bad  ac 
cording  to  the  character  of  the  objects  presented 
to  its  gaze. 

We  cannot,  therefore,  overestimate  the  salutary 
effect  produced  upon  us  in  a  church  or  room 
adorned  with  sacred  paintings.  We  feel,  while  in 
their  presence,  that  we  are  in  the  company  of  the 
just,  and  the  contemplation  of  these  pious  portraits 
chastens  our  affections,  elevates  our  thoughts,  checks 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  247 

our  levity,  and  diffuses  around  us  a  healthy  atmos 
phere. 

I  am  happy  to  acknowledge  that  the  outcry  form 
erly  raised  against  images  has  almost  subsided  of 
late.  The  epithet  of  idolaters  is  seldom  applied  to 
us  now.  Even  some  of  our  dissenting  brethren  are 
already  beginning  to  recognize  the  utility  of  reli 
gious  symbols,  and  to  regret  that  we  have  been  per 
mitted,  by  the  intemperate  zeal  of  the  Reformers,  to 
have  so  long  the  monopoly  of  them.  Crosses  already 
surmount  some  of  our  Protestant  churches,  and  re 
place  the  weather-cock. 

A  gentleman  of  Richmond  recently  informed  me 
that  during  the  preceding  Holy  Week  he  adorned 
with  twelve  crosses  an  Episcopal  church  where, 
eleven  years  before,  the  sight  of  a  single  cross  was 
viewed  with  horror  by  the  minister. 

May  the  day  soon  come  when  all  Christians  will 
join  with  us  not  only  in  venerating  the  sacred  sym 
bol  of  salvation,  but  in  worshipping  at  the  same 
altar. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PURGATORY,  AND  PRAYERS  FOR  THE  DEAD. 

f  PHE  Catholic  Church  teaches  that,  besides  a  place 
JL  of  eternal  torments  for  the  wicked  and  of  ever 
lasting  rest  for  the  righteous,  there  exists  in  the  next 
life  a  middle  state  of  temporary  punishment,  allotted 


248  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

for  those  who  have  died  in  venial  sin,  or  who  have 
not  satisfied  the  justice  of  God  for  sins  already  for 
given.  She  also  teaches  us  that,  although  the  souls 
consigned  to  this  intermediate  state,  commonly  called 
Purgatory,  cannot  help  themselves,  they  may  bo 
aided  by  the  suffrages  of  the  faithful  on  earth.  The 
existence  of  Purgatory  naturally  implies  the  correla 
tive  dogma, —  the  utility  of  praying  for  the  dead ; 
for,  the  souls  consigned  to  this  middle  state  have 
not  reached  the  term  of  their  journey.  They  are 
still  exiles  from  heaven,  and  are  fit  subjects  for 
divine  clemency. 

Is  it  not  strange  that  this  cherished  doctrine 
should  also  be  called  in  question  by  the  levelling  in 
novators  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  we  con 
sider  that  it  is  clearly  taught  in  the  Old  Testament ; 
that  it  is,  at  least,  insinuated  in  the  New  Testament ; 
that  it  is  unanimously  proclaimed  by  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church ;  that  it  is  embodied  in  all  the  ancient 
liturgies  of  the  Oriental  and  the  Western  church; 
and  that  it  is  a  doctrine  alike  consonant  with  our 
reason,  and  eminently  consoling  to  the  human  heart? 

1.  It  is  a  doctrine  plainly  contained  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  piously  practised  by  the  Hebrew 
people.  At  the  close  of  an  engagement  which  Judas 
Machabeus  had  with  the  enemy,  he  ordered  prayers 
and  sacrifices  to  be  offered  up  for  his  slain  comrades. 
"  And  making  a  gathering,  he  sent  twelve  thousand 
drachms  of  silver  to  Jerusalem  for  sacrifice  to  be 
offered  lor  the  sins  of  the  dead,  thinking  well  and 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  249 

religiously  concerning  the  resurrection.  For,  if  he 
had  not  hoped  that  they  that  were  slain  should  rise 
again,  it  would  have  seemed  superfluous  and  vain  to 
pray  for  the  dead.  ...  It  is,  therefore,  a  holy  and 
wholesome  thought  to  pray  for  the  dead,  that  they 
may  be  loosed  from  sins."  1 

These  words  are  so  forcible  that  no  comment  of 
mine  could  render  them  clearer.  This  passage  proved 
a  great  stumbling-block  to  the  Reformers.  Finding 
that  they  could  not  by  any  evasion  weaken  the  force 
of  the  text,  they  impiously  threw  overboard  the 
Books  of  Machabees,  like  a  man  who  assassinates 
a  hostile  witness.  They  pretended  that  the  two 
Books  of  Machabees  were  apocryphal.  And  yet 
they  have  precisely  the  same  authority  as  the  Gos 
pel  of  St.  Matthew  or  any  other  portion  of  the 
Bible.  For,  the  canon icity  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
rests  solely  on  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
which  proclaimed  them  inspired. 

But  even  admitting,  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
that  the  Books  of  Machabees  were  not  entitled  to  be 
ranked  among  the  canonical  Books  of  Holy  Scrip 
ture,  no  one,  at  least,  has  ever  denied  that  they  are 
truthful  historical  monuments,  and,  as  such,  that 
they  serve  to  demonstrate  that  it  was  a  prevail 
ing  practice  among  the  Hebrew  people,  as  it  is 
with  us,  to  iffer  up  prayers  and  sacrifices  for  the 
dead. 

2.  When  our  Saviour,  the  Founder  of  the  New 
1  II.  Mach.  xii.  43-46. 


250  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Law,  appeared  on  earth,  He  came  to  lop  off  those 
excrescences  which  had  grown  on  the  body  of  the 
Jewish  ecclesiastical  code,  and  to  purify  the  Jewish 
Church  from  those  human  traditions  which,  in  the 
course  of  time,  became  like  chaff  mixed  with  the 
wheat  of  sound  doctrine.  For  instance,  He  con 
demns  the  Pharisees  for  prohibiting  the  perform 
ance  of  works  of  charity  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  St.  Matthew  He 
cites  against  them  a  long  catalogue  of  innovations 
in  doctrine  and  discipline. 

But  did  our  Lord,  at  any  time,  reprove  the  Jews 
for  their  belief  in  a  middle  state,  or  for  praying  for 
the  dead,  a  practice  which,  to  His  knowledge,  pre 
vailed  among  the  people  ?  Never.  On  the  contrary, 
more  than  once  both  He  and  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  insinuate  the  doctrine  of  Purgatory. 

Our  Saviour  says :  "  Whosoever  shall  speak  a 
word  against  the  Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him.  But  he  that  shall  speak  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this 
world  nor  in  the  world  to  come." 1  When  our 
Saviour  declares  that  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost 
shall  not  be  forgiven  in  the  next  life,  He  evidently 
leaves  us  to  infer  that  there  are  some  sins  which 
will  be  pardoned  in  the  life  to  come. 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that  "every  man's  work  shall  be 
manifest"  on  the  Lord's  day.  "The  fire  shall  try 
every  man's  work,  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's 

1  Matt.  xii.  32. 


PURGATORY',  ETC.  251 

work  abide,"  that  is,  if  his  works  are  holy,  "  he 
shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any  man's  work  burn," 
that  is,  if  his  works  are  faulty  and  imperfect,  "  he 
shall  suffer  loss ;  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved,  yet 
80  as  by  fire." l  His  soul  will  be  ultimately  saved, 
but  he  shall  suffer,  for  a  temporary  duration,  in  the 
purifying  flames  of  Purgatory. 

This  interpretation  is  not  mine.  It  is  the  unani 
mous  voice  of  the  Fathers  of  Christendom.  And 
who  are  they  that  have  removed  the  time-honored 
landmarks  of  Christian  faith  by  rejecting  the  doc 
trine  of  Purgatory  ?  They  are  discontented  church 
men,  impatient  of  the  religious  yoke,  men  who  ap 
peared  on  the  stage  sixteen  hundred  years  after  the 
foundation  of  Christianity.  Judge  you,  reader, 
whom  you  ought  to  follow.  If  you  want  to  know 
the  true  import  of  a  vital  question  in  the  Consti 
tution,  would  you  not  follow  the  decision  of  a  Story, 
a  Jefferson,  a  Marshall,  a  Taney,  jurists  and  states 
men,  who  were  the  recognized  expounders  of  the 
Constitution  ?  Would  you  not  prefer  their  opinion 
to  that  of  political  demagogues,  who  have  neither 
learning,  nor  authority,  nor  history,  to  support 
them,  but  some  selfish  end  to  further?  Now,  the 
same  motive  which  you  have  for  rejecting  the 
opinion  of  an  ignorant  politician,  and  embracing 
that  of  eminent  jurists,  on  a  constitutional  question, 
impels  you  to  cast  aside  the  novelties  of  religious 
innovators,  and  to  follow  the  unanimous  sentiments 

1 1.  Cor.  iii.  13-15. 


252  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHER*. 

of  the  Fathers  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  Purga 
tory. 

3.  I  would  wish  to  place  before  you  extended  ex 
tracts  from  the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers  of  the 
Church  bearing  upon  this  subject;  but  I  must  con 
tent  myself  with  quoting  a  few  of  the  most  promi 
nent  lights  of  primitive  Christianity. 

Tertullian,  who  lived  in  the  second  century,  saya 
that  "  the  faithful  wife  will  pray  for  the  soul  of  her 
deceased  husband,  particularly  on  the  anniversary 
day  of  his  falling  asleep  (death).  And  if  she  fail 
to  do  so,  she  hath  repudiated  her  husband  as  far  a& 
in  her  lies." l  • 

Eusebius  (4th  cent.),  the  historian,  describing  the 
funeral  of  Constantine  the  Great,  saya  that  the  body 
of  the  blessed  prince  was  placed  on  a  lofty  bier,  and 
the  ministers  of  God,  and  the  multitude  of  the 
people,  with  tears  and  much  lamentation,  offered  up 
prayers  and  sacrifice  for  the  repose  of  his  soul. 
And  the  historian  adds  that  this  was  done  in  accord 
ance  with  the  desires  of  that  religious  monarch,  who 
had  erected  in  Constantinople  the  great  church  in 
honor  of  the  Apostles,  so  that  after  his  death  the 
faithful  might  there  remember  him.2 

St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (4th  cent.)  writes :  "  We 
commemorate  the  Holy  Fathers,  and  Bishops,  and 
all  who  have  fallen  asleep  from  amongst  us,  believ 
ing  that  the  supplications  which  we  present  will  be 

1  De  Monogam.,  n.  x.  *  Euseb.,  B.  iv.,  c.  71. 


PTJEGATORY,  ETC.  253 

of  great  assistance  to  their  souls,  while  the  holy  and 
tremendous  sacrifice  is  offered  up."  And  he  answers 
by  an  illustration  those  who  might  be  disposed  to 
doubt  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  dead :  "  If  a 
king  had  banished  certain  persons  who  had  offended 
him,  and  their  relations  having  woven  a  crown, 
should  offer  it  to  him  in  behalf  of  those  under  his 
vengeance,  would  he  not  grant  a  respite  to  their 
punishments?  So  we,  in  offering  up  a  crown  of 
prayers  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  fallen  asleep, 
will  obtain  for  them  forgiveness  through  the  merits 
of  Christ,"1 

St.  Ephrem,  in  the  same  century,  says:  "I  con 
jure  you,  my  brethren  and  friends,  in  the  name  of 
that  God  who  commands  me  to  leave  you,  to  re 
member  me  when  you  assemble  to  pray.  Do  not 
bury  me  with  perfumes.  Give  them  not  to  me,  but 
to  God.  Me,  conceived  in  sorrows,  bury  with  lamen 
tations,  and  instead  of  perfumes,  assist  me  with  your 
prayers ;  for  the  dead  are  benefited  by  the  prayers 
of  living  saints."2 

St.  Ambrose  (same  century),  on  the  death  of  the 
Emperors  Gratian  and  Valentinian,  says:  "Blessed 
shall  both  of  you  be  (Gratiau  and  Valentiuian),  if 
my  prayers  can  avail  anything.  No  day  shall  pass 
yon  over  in  silence.  No  prayer  of  mine  shall  omit 
to  honor  you.  No  night  shall  hurry  by  without 
bestowing  on  you  a  mention  in  my  prayers.  In 

1  Catech.,  n.  9,  10,  p.  328. 

8  Apud  Faith  of  Catholics,  Vol.  III.,  p.  162  and  sej. 
22 


254  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

every  one  of  the  oblations  will  I  remember  you." 
And  on  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  he 
oflers  the  following  prayer:  "Give  perfect  rest  to 
Thy  servant  Theodosius,  that  rest  which  Thou  hast 
prepared  for  Thy  saints.  May  his  soul  return  thither 
whence  it  descended,  where  it  cannot  feel  the  sting 

of  death I  loved  him,  and  therefore  will  I 

follow  him,  even  unto  the  land  of  the  living.  Nor 
will  I  leave  him  until,  by  tears  and  prayers,  I  shall 
lead  him  ....  unto  the  holy  mountain  of  the  Lord, 
where  is  life  undying,  where  corruption  is  not,  nor 
sighing  nor  mourning."  l 

St.  Jerome,  in  the  same  century,  in  a  letter  of 
condolence  to  Pammachius,  on  the  death  of  his  wife 
Paulina,  writes :  "  Other  husbands  strew  violets  and 
roses  on  the  graves  of  their  wives.  Our  Pammachius 
bedews  the  hallowed  dust  of  Paulina  with  balsams 
of  alms.1' 2 

And  St.  Chrysostom  writes :  "  It  was  not  without 
good  reason  ordained  by  the  Apostles,  that  mention 
should  be  made  of  the  dead  in  the  tremendous 
mysteries,  because  they  knew  well  that  these  would 
receive  great  benefit  from  it."8 

St.  Augustine,  who  lived  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  relates  that  when  his  mother  was  at 
the  point  of  death,  she  made  this  last  request  of 
him :  "  Lay  this  body  anywhere ;  let  not  the  care 
of  it  any  way  disturb  you.  This  only  I  request  of 

1  See  Faif.Ii  of  Catholics,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  176. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  177.  »  Ibid.,  Vol.  II. 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  255 

you,  that  you  would  remember  me  at  the  altar  of 
the  Lord,  wherever  you  be." 

And  that  pious  son  prays  for  his  mother's  soul  in 
the  most  impassioned  language :  "  I,  therefore,"  he 
says,  "  O  God  of  my  heart,  do  now  beseech  Thee  for 
the  sins  of  my  mother.  Hear  me  through  the  medi 
cine  of  the  wounds  that  hung  upon  the  wood 

May  she  then  be  in  peace  with  her  husband 

And  inspire,  my  Lord,  ....  Thy  servants,  my  breth 
ren,  whom  with  voice  and  heart  and  pen  I  serve, 
that  as  many  as  shall  read  these  words  may  remem 
ber  at  Thy  altar,  Monica,  Thy  servant.  .  .  .  ." l 

These  are  but  a  few  specimens  of  the  unanimous 
voice  of  the  Fathers  regarding  the  salutary  practice 
of  praying  for  the  dead. 

You  now  perceive  that  this  devotion  is  not  an  in 
vention  of  modern  times,  but  a  doctrine  universally 
enforced  in  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the  Church. 

You  see  that  praying  for  the  dead  was  not  a  de 
votion  cautiously  recommended  by  some  obscure  or 
visionary  writer,  but  an  act  of  religion  preached  and 
inculcated  by  all  the  great  Doctors  and  Fathers  of 
the  Church,  who  are  the  recognized  expounders  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

You  see  them,  too,  inculcating  this  doctrine  not  as 
a  cold  and  abstract  principle,  but  as  an  imperative 
act  of  daily  piety,  and  embodying  it  in  their  ordi 
nary  exercises  of  devotion. 

They  prayed  for  the  dead  in  their  morning  and 

1  Confessions,  Book  ix 


256  THE   FATTH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

evening  devotions.  They  prayed  for  them  in  their 
daily  office,  and  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  The^ 
asked  the  prayers  of  the  congregation,  for  the  souls 
of  the  deceased,  in  the  public  services  of  Sunday. 
And  on  the  monuments  which  were  erected  to  the 
dead,  some  of  which  are  preserved  even  to  this  day, 
epitaphs  were  inscribed,  earnestly  invoking  for  their 
souls  the  prayers  of  the  living.  How  gratifying  it 
is  to  our  Catholic  hearts,  that  a  devotion  so  soothing 
to  afflicted  spirits  is  at  the  same  time  so  firmly 
grounded  on  the  tradition  of  ages ! 

4.  That  the  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead  has 
descended  from  Apostolic  times  is  also  evident  from 
the  Liturgies  of  the  Church.  A  Liturgy  is  the  estab 
lished  formulary  of  public  worship,  containing  the 
authorized  prayers  of  the  Church.  The  Missal,  or 
Mass-book,  for  instance,  which  you  see  on  our  altars, 
contains  a  portion  of  the  Liturgy  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  The  principal  Liturgies  are,  the  Liturgy 
of  St.  James  the  Apostle,  who  founded  the  Church 
of  Jerusalem  ;  the  Liturgy  of  St.  Mark  the  Evange 
list,  founder  of  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  and  the 
Liturgy  of  St.  Peter,  who  established  the  Church 
in  Rome.  These  Liturgies  are  called  after  the 
Apostles  who  compiled  them.  There  are,  besides,  the 
Liturgies  of  St.  Chrysostorn  and  St.  Basil,  which 
aru  chiefly  based  on  the  model  of  that  of  St.  James. 

Now,  all  these  Liturgies,  without  an  exception, 
have  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  their  providential 
preservation  serves  as  another  triumphant  vindica- 


i'URGATORY,  ETC.  257 

tion   of  the   venerable   antiquity  of  this   Catholic 
doctrine. 

The  Eastern  and  the  Western  churches  were 
happily  united  until  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
when  the  heresiarchs  Arius,  Nestorius,  and  Eutyches 
withdrew  millions  of  souls  from  the  centre  of  unity. 
The  followers  of  these  sects  were  called,  after  their 
founders,  Arians,  Nestorians,  and  Eutychiaus,  and 
from  that  day  to  the  present  the  two  latter  bodies 
have  formed  distinct  communions,  being  separated 
from  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  East,  just  as  the  Prot 
estant  churches  are  separated  from  her  in  the  West. 

The  Greek  schismatic  church,  of  which  the  pres 
ent  Russo-Greek  church  is  the  offspring,  severed 
her  connection  with  the  See  of  Rome  in  the  ninth 
century. 

But  in  leaving  the  Catholic  Church,  these  Eastern 
sects  retained  the  old  Liturgies,  which  they  use  to 
this  day,  as  I  shall  presently  demonstrate. 

During  my  sojourn  in  Rome  at  the  Ecumenical 
Council,  I  devoted  a  great  deal  of  my  leisure  time 
to  the  examination  of  the  various  Liturgies  of  the 
schismatic  churches  of  the  East.  I  found  in  all  of 
them  formulas  of  prayers  for  the  dead  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  Roman  Missal :  "  Remem 
ber,  O  Lord,  Thy  servants  who  are  gone  before  us 
with  the  sign  of  faith,  and  sleep  in  peace.  To  these, 
O  Lord,  and  to  all  who  rest  in  Christ,  grant,  we 
beseech  Thee,  a  place  of  refreshment,  light,  and 
peace,  through  the  same  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
22*  R 


258  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Not  content  with  studying  their  books,  I  called 
upon  the  Oriental  Patriarchs  and  Bishops  in  com 
munion  with  the  See  of  Rome,  who  belong  to  the 
Armenian,  the  Chaldean,  the  Coptic,  the  Maioiiite, 
and  Syriac  rites.  They  all  assured  me  that  the 
schismatic  Christians  of  the  East  among  whom 
they  live,  have,  without  exception,  prayers  and 
sacrifices  for  the  dead. 

Now,  I  ask,  when  could  those  Eastern  sects  have 
commenced  to  adopt  the  Catholic  practice  of  pray 
ing  for  the  dead  ?  They  could  not  have  received  it 
from  us  since  the  ninth  century,  because  the  Greek 
church  separated  from  us  then,  and  has  had  no 
communion  with  us  since  that  time,  except  at  inter 
vals,  up  to  the  twelfth  century.  Nor  could  they  have 
adopted  the  practice  since  the  fourth  or  fifth  century, 
inasmuch  as  the  Arians,  Nestorians,  and  Eutychians 
have  had  no  religious  communication  with  us  since 
that  period.  Therefore,  in  common  with  us,  they 
received  this  doctrine  from  the  Apostles.  If  men 
living  in  different  countries  drink  wine  having  the 
same  flavor  and  taste  and  color,  the  inference  is,  that 
the  wine  was  made  from  the  same  species  of  grape. 
So  must  we  conclude  that  this  refreshing  doctrine  of 
intercession  for  the  dead  has  its  root  in  the  Apostolic 
tree  of  knowledge  planted  by  our  Saviour. 

5.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  devotion  of  che 
ancient  Jewish  church  to  the  souls  of  the  departed. 
But  perhaps  you  are  riot  aware  that  the  Jews  retain 
to  this  day,  in  their  Liturgy,  the  pious  practice  of 
praying  for  the  dead.  Yet  such  in  reality  is  the  case. 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  259 

Amid  all  their  wanderings  and  vicissitudes  of  life, 
though  dismembered  and  dispersed,  like  sheep  with 
out  a  shepherd,  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  the 
children  of  Israel  have  never  forgotten  or  neg 
lected  the  sacred  duty  of  praying  for  their  de 
ceased  brethren. 

Unwilling  to  make  this  assertion  without  the 
strongest  evidence,  I  procured  from  a  Jewish  con 
vert  an  authorized  Prayer-Book  of  the  Hebrew 
church,  from  which  I  extract  the  following  formula 
of  prayers  which  are  prescribed  for  funerals :  "  De 
parted  brother !  rnayest  thou  find  open  the  gates  of 
heaven,  and  see  the  city  of  peace  and  the  dwellings 
of  safety,  and  meet  the  ministering  angels  hastening 
joyfully  toward  thee.  And  may  the  High  Priest 
stand  to  receive  thee,  and  go  thou  to  the  end,  rest 
in  peace,  and  rise  again  into  life.  May  the  repose 
established  in  the  celestial  abode  ...  be  the  lot, 
dwelling,  and  the  resting-place  of  the  soul  of  our 
deceased  brother  (whom  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  may 
jruide  into  Paradise)  who  departed  from  this  world, 
according  to  the  will  of  God,  the  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth.  May  the  supreme  King  of  Kings, 
through  His  infinite  mercy,  hide  him  under  the 
shadow  of  His  wings.  May  He  raise  him  at  the 
end  of  his  days,  and  cause  him  to  drink  of  the 
stream  of  His  delights."  l 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  more  advanced  and 

Jewish  Prayer-Book.    Edited  by  Isaac  Leeser,  published 
by  Siote  &  Mooney,  Philadelphia. 


260  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

enlightened  members  of  the  Episcopalian  church  are 
steadily  returning  to  the  faith  of  their  forefathers 
regarding  prayers  for  the  dead.  An  acquaintance 
of  mine,  once  a  distinguished  clergyman  of  the 
Episcopal  communion,  but  now  a  convert,  informed 
me  that  hundreds  of  Protestant  clergymen  in  this 
country,  and  particularly  in  England,  have  a  firm 
belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  dead,  but 
for  well-known  reasons  they  are  reserved  in  the  ex 
pression  of  their  faith.  He  easily  convinced  me  of 
the  truth  of  his  assertion,  particularly  as  far  as  the 
church  of  England  is  concerned,  by  sending  me  six 
different  works  published  in  London,  all  bearing  on 
the  subject  of  Purgatory.  These  books  are  printed 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church ;  they  all  contain  prayers  for  the  dead,  and 
prove,  from  Catholic  grounds,  the  existence  of  a 
middle  state  after  death,  and  the  duty  of  praying 
for  our  deceased  brethren.1 

To  sum  up :  we  see  the  practice  of  praying  for  the 
dead  enforced  in  the  ancient  Hebrew  church,  and  in 
the  Jewish  synagogue  of  to-day.  We  see  it  pro 
claimed  age  after  age  by  all  the  Fathers  of  Chris 
tendom.  We  see  it  incorporated  in  every  one  of  the 
ancient  Liturgies  of  the  East  and  of  the  West*  We 
see  it  zealously  taught  by  the  Russian  church  of  to 
day,  and  by  that  immense  family  of  schismatic 
Christians  scattered  over  the  East.  We  behold  it, 

1  See  Path  of  Holiness,  Rivington's,  London  Treasury  of 
Devotion,  Ibid,  .Catedaism  of  Theology,  Hasten,  London. 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  261 

in  fine,  a  cherished  devotion  of  two  hundred  millions 
of  Catholics,  as  well  as  of  a  respectable  portion  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

Would  it  not,  my  friend,  be  the  height  of  rash 
ness  and  presumption  in  you  to  prefer  your  private 
opinion  to  this  immense  weight  of  learning,  sanctity, 
and  authority  ?  Would  it  not  be  impiety  in  you  to 
stand  aside  with  sealed  lips,  while  the  Christian 
world  is  sending  up  an  unceasing  De  profundis  for 
departed  brethren  ?  Would  it  not  be  cold  and  heart 
less  in  you  not  to  pray  for  your  deceased  friends,  on 
account  of  prejudices  which  have  no  grounds  in 
Scripture,  tradition,  or  reason  itself? 

If  a  brother  leaves  you  to  cross  the  broad  Atlan 
tic,  religion  and  affection  prompt  you  to  pray  for 
him  during  his  absence.  And  if  the  same  brother 
crosses  the  narrow  sea  of  death  to  pass  to  the  shores 
of  eteruity,  why  not  pray  for  him  then  also  ?  When 
he  crosses  the  Atlantic,  his  soul,  imprisoned  in  the 
flesh,  is  absent  from  you ;  when  he  passes  the  sea 
of  death,  his  soul,  released  from  the  flesh,  has  gone 
from  you.  What  difference  does  this  make  with 
regard  to  the  duty  of  your  intercession  ?  For,  what 
is  death  ?  A  mere  separation  of  body  and  soul. 
The  body,  indeed,  dies,  but  the  soul  "lives  and 
moves  and  has  its  being."  It  continues  after  death, 
as  before,  to  think,  to  remember,  to  love.  And  do 
not  God's  dominion  and  mercy  extend  over  that 
soul  beyond  the  grave  as  well  as  this  side  of  it  ? 
Who  shall  place  limits  to  God's  empire,  and  say  to 


262  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Him:  "Thus  far  Thou  shall  go  and  no  farther?" 
Two  thousand  years  after  Abraham's  death,  our 
Lord  said  :  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob.  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but 
of  the  living."  l 

If  it  is  profitable  for  you  then  to  pray  for  your 
brother  in  the  flesh,  why  should  it  be  useless  foi 
yoo  to  pray  for  him  out  of  the  flesh  ?  For,  while 
he  was  living,  you  prayed  not  for  his  body,  but  for 
his  soul. 

If  this  brother  of  yours  dies  with  some  slight 
stains  upon  his  soul,  a  sin  of  impatience,  for  instance, 
or  an  idle  word,  is  he  fit  to  enter  heaven  with 
these  blemishes  upon  his  soul  ?  No  ;  the  sanctity  of 
God  forbids  it,  for,  "  nothing  defiled  shall  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 2  Will  you  consign  him,  for 
these  minor  transgressions,  to  eternal  torments  with 
adulterers  and  murderers?  No;  the  justice  and 
mercy  of  God  forbid  it.  Therefore,  your  common 
sense  demands  a  middle  place  of  expiation  for  the 
purgation  of  the  soul  before  it  is  worthy  of  enjoying 
the  companionship  of  God  and  His  saints. 

God  "  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  hit> 
works," — to  the  pure  and  unsullied,  everlasting 
bliss  ;  to  the  reprobate,  eternal  damnation ;  to  soul  > 
stained  with  minor  faults,  a  place  of  temporary  pur 
gation. 

I  have  seen  a  devoted  daughter  minister  with 
tender  solicitude  at  the  sick-bed  of  a  fond  parent 

1  Mark  xii.  26,  27.  a  Apoc.  xxi.  27. 


PURGATORY,  ETC.  26S 

Many  an  anxious  day  and  sleepless  night  did  she 
watch  at  his  bedside.  And  she  moistened  the 
parched  lips,  and  cooled  the  fevered  brow,  and 
raised  the  drooping  head  on  its  pillow.  Every 
change  in  her  patient  for  better  or  worse,  brought 
a  corresponding  sunshine  or  gloom  to  her  heart. 
It  was  filial  love  that  prompted  all  this.  Her 
father  died,  and  she  followed  his  remains  to  the 
grave.  Though  not  a  Catholic,  standing  by  the 
bier,  she  burst  those  chains  which  a  cruel  religious 
prejudice  had  wrought  around  her  heart,  and,  rising 
superior  to  her  sect,  she  cried  out :  Lord,  have  mercy 
on  his  soul.  It  was  the  voice  of  nature  and  of 
religion. 

Oh !  far  from  us  a  religion  which  would  decree 
an  eternal  divorce  between  the  living  and  the  dead. 
How  consoling  is  it  to  the  Catholic,  to  think  that, 
in  praying  thus  for  his  departed  friend,  his  prayers 
are  not  in  violation  of,  but  in  accordance  with,  the 
voice  of  the  Church  ;  and  that  as,  like  Augustine,  he 
watches  at  the  pillow  of  a  dying  mother,  so,  like 
Augustine,  he  can  continue  the  same  office  of  piety 
for  her  soul  after  she  is  dead,  by  praying  for  her. 
How  cheering  the  reflection  that  the  golden  link  of 
prayer  unites  you  still  to  those  who  "  fell  asleep  in 
the  Lord,"  and  that  you  can  still  speak  to  them 
anc!  pray  for  them  ! 

Tennyson  grasps  the  Catholic  feeling,  when  he 
makes  his  hero,  whose  course  is  run,  thus  address  his 
surviving  comrade,  Sir  Bedivere  : 


2fH  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

UI  have  lived  my  life,  and  that  which  I  have  done 
May  He  within  Himself  make  pure  ;  but  thou. 
If  thou  shouldst  never  see  my  face  again, 
Pray  for  my  soul.     More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of.     Wherefore,  let  thy  voice 
Rise  like  a  fountain  for  me  night  and  day. 
For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
Both  for  themselves  and  those,  who  call  them  friend? 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God."  l 

Oh  !  it  is  this  thought  that  robs  death  of  its  sting 
and  makes  the  separation  of  friends  endurable. 
And  if  your  departed  friend  needs  not  your 
prayers,  they  are  not  lost,  but,  like  the  rain  ab 
sorbed  by  the  sun,  and  descending  again  in  fruitful 
showers  on  our  fields,  they  will  be  gathered  by  the 
Sun  of  justice,  and  they  will  come  down  in  refresh 
ing  showers  of  grace  upon  your  head :  "  Cast  thy 
bread  upon  the  running  waters;  for,  after  a  long 
time,  thou  shalt  find  it  again."  2 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CIVIL   AND   RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

MAN  enjoys  religious  liberty  when  he  possesses 
the  free  right  of  worshiping  God  according   to 
the  dictates  of  a  right  conscience,  and  of  practising 
Morte  D'  Arthur.  2  Eccles.  xi.  1. 


A 


CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  265 

a  form  of  religion  most  .in  accordance  with  his  duties 
to  God.  Every  act  infringing  on  his  freedom  of 
conscience  is  justly  styled  religious  intolerance. 
This  religious  liberty  is  the  true  right  of  every  man, 
because  it  corresponds  with  a  most  certain  duty 
which  God  has  put  upon  him. 

A  man  enjoys  civil  liberty  vrtien  he  is  exempt 
from  the  arbitrary  will  of  others,  and  when  he  is 
governed  by  equitable  laws  established  for  the 
general  welfare  of  society.  So  long  as,  in  common 
with  his  fellow-citizens,  he  observes  the  laws  of  the 
state,  any  exceptional  restraint  imposed  upon  him, 
in  the  exercise  of  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  is  so  far 
an  infringement  on  his  civil  liberty. 

I  here  assert  the  proposition,  which  I  hope  to 
confirm  by  historical  evidence,  that  the  Catholic 
Church  has  always  been  the  zealous  promoter  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty ;  and  that  whenever  any 
encroachments  on  these  sacred  rights  of  man  were 
perpetrated  by  professing  members  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  these  wrongs,  far  from  being  sanctioned  by 
the  Church,  were  committed  in  palpable  violation 
of  her  authority. 

Her  doctrine  is,  that  as  man  by  his  own  free  will 
fell  from  grace,  so  of  his  own  free  will  must  he  re 
turn  to  grace.  Conversion  and  coercion  are  two 
terms  that  can  never  be  reconciled.  It  has  ever 
been  a  cardinal  maxim,  inculcated  by  sovereign 
Pontiffs  and  other  Prelates,  that  no  violence  or 
undue  influence  should  be  exercised  by  Christian 
23 


266  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Princes  or  Missionaries  in  their  efforts  to  convert 
souls  to  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ. 

St.  Augustine  and  his  companions,  who  were  sent 
by  Pope  Gregory  I.  to  England  for  the  conversion 
of  that  nation,  had  the  happiness  of  baptizing  in  the 
true  faith  King  Ethelbert  and  many  of  his  sub 
jects.  That  monarch,  in  the  fervor  of  his  zeal,  was 
most  anxious  that  all  his  subjects  should  immediately 
follow  his  example ;  but  the  missionaries  admonished 
him  that  he  should  scrupulously  abstain  from  all 
violence  in  the  conversion  of  his  people;  for,  the 
Christian  religion  should  be  voluntarily  embraced. 

Pope  Nicholas  I.  also  warned  Michael,  king  of 
the  Bulgarians,  against  employing  any  force  or  con 
straint  in  the  conversion  of  idolaters. 

The  fourth  Council  of  Toledo,  a  synod  of  great 
authority  in  the  Church,  ordained  that  no  one  should 
be  compelled  against  his  will  to  make  a  profession 
of  the  Christian  faith.  And  be  it  remembered  that 
this  Council  was  composed  of  all  the  Bishops  of 
Spain ;  and  was  assembled  in  a  country  and  at  a 
time  in  which  the  Church  held  almost  unlimited 
sway,  and  among  a  people  who  have  been  repre 
sented  as  the  most  fanatical  and  intolerant  of  all 
Europe. 

Perhaps  no  man  can  be  considered  a  fairer  repre 
sentative  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived  than  St. 
Bernard,  the  illustrious  Abbot  of  Clairvaux.  He 
was  the  embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  His  life  is  the  key  that  discloses  to  us 


AND   BELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  267 

what  degree  of  toleration  prevailed  in  those  days. 
Having  heard  that  a  fanatical  preacher  was  stimu 
lating  the  people  to  deeds  of  violence  against  the 
Jews,  as  the  enemies  of  Christianity,  St.  Bernard 
raised  his  eloquent  voice  against  him,  and  rescued 
those  persecuted  people  from  the  danger  to  which 
they  were  exposed. 

Not  to  cite  too  many  examples,  let  me  only  quote 
for  you  the  beautiful  letter  addressed  by  Fenelon, 
Archbishop  of  Cambray,  to  the  son  of  King  James 
II.  of  England.  This  letter  not  only  reflects  the 
sentiments  of  his  own  heart,  but  formulizes,  in  this 
particular,  the  decrees  of  the  Church,  of  which  he 
was  a  distinguished  ornament.  "  Above  all,"  he 
writes,  "  never  force  your  subjects  to  change  their 
religion.  No  human  power  can  reach  the  impene 
trable  recess  of  the  free  will  of  the  heart.  Violence 
can  never  persuade  men :  it  serves  only  to  make 
hypocrites.  Grant  civil  liberty  to  all,  not  in  ap 
proving  everything  as  indifferent,  but  in  tolerating 
with  patience  whatever  Almighty  God  tolerates, 
and  endeavoring  to  convert  men  by  mild  per 
suasion."  L 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  Catholic  Church  spares 
no  pains,  and  stops  at  no  sacrifice,  in  order  to  induce 
mankind  to  embrace  her  faith.  Otherwise  she  would 
be  recreant  to  her  sacred  mission.  But  she  scorns 
to  exercise  any  undue  influence  in  her  efforts  to  con 
vert  souls. 

1  Vie  de  Fenelon. 


268  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  superior  advantages  of 
our  female  academies  throughout  the  country  lead 
many  of  our  dissenting  brethren  to  send  their  daugh 
ters  to  these  institutions.  It  is  also  well  known  that 
so  warm  is  the  affection  which  these  young  ladies 
entertain  for  their  religious  teachers ;  so  hallowed  is 
the  atmosphere  they  breathe  within  these  seats  of 
learning,  that  they  often  beg  to  embrace  a  religion 
which  fosters  so  much  piety,  and  which  produces 
such  pure  and  fragrant  lilies.  Do  the  sisters  take 
advantage  of  this  influence  in  the  cause  of  prose- 
lytism  ?  By  no  means.  So  delicate  is  their  regard 
for  the  religious  conscience  of  their  pupils,  that  they 
rarely  consent  to  have  these  young  ladies  baptized 
till  they  have  obtained  the  free  permission  of  their 
parents  or  guardians,  after  being  thoroughly  in 
structed  in  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Church. 

The  Church  is,  indeed,  intolerant  in  this  sense, 
that  she  can  never  confound  truth  with  error ;  nor 
can  she  admit  that  any  man  is  conscientiously  free 
to  reject  the  truth  when  its  claims  are  convincingly 
brought  home  to  the  mind.  Many  Protestants 
seem  to  be  very  much  disturbed  by  some  such  ar 
gument  as  this :  Catholics  are  very  ready  now  to 
proclaim  freedom  of  conscience,  because  they  are 
in  the  minority.  When^  they  once  succeed  in  get 
ting  the  tipper  hand  in  numbers  and  power,  they 
will  destroy  this  freedom,  because  their  faith  teaches 
them  to  tolerate  no  doctrine  other  than  the  Catholic. 
It  is,  then,  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity  for  us  that 


CIVIL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  269 

they  should  never  be  allowed  to  get  this  advan 
tage. 

Now,  in  all  this,  there  is  a  great  mistake,  which 
comes  from  not  knowing  the  Catholic  doctrine  in  its 
fulness.  I  shall  not  lay  it  down  myself,  lest  it  seem 
to  have  been  gotten  up  for  the  occasion.  I  shall 
quote  the  great  theologian  Becanus,  who  taught  the 
doctrine  of  the  schools  of  Catholic  Theology  at  the 
time  when  the  struggle  was  hottest  between  Ca 
tholicity  and  Protestantism.  He  says  that  religious 
liberty  may  be  tolerated  by  a  ruler  when  it  would 
do  more  harm  to  the  state  or  to  the  community  to 
repress  it.  The  ruler  may  even  enter  into  a  com 
pact  in  order  to  secure  to  his  subjects  this  freedom 
in  religious  matters ;  and  when  once  a  compact  is 
made,  it  must  absolutely  be  observed  in  every  point, 
just  as  every  other  lawful  and  honest  contract.1 
This  is  the  true  Catholic  teaching  on  this  point,  ac 
cording  to  Becanus  and  all  Catholic  theologians.  So 
that  if  Catholics  should  gain  the  majority  in  a  com 
munity  where  freedom  of  conscience  is  already  se 
cured  to  all  by  law,  their  very  religion  obliges  them 
to  respect  the  rights  thus  acquired  by  their  fellow- 
citizens.  What  danger  can  there  be,  then,  for  Pro 
testants,  if  Catholics  should  be  in  the  majority  here? 
Their  apprehensions  are  the  result  of  vain  fears, 
which  no  honest  mind  ought  any  longer  to  harbor. 

The  Church  has  not  only  respected  the  conscience 
of  the  people  in  embracing  the  religion  of  their 

1  Becanus  de  Virtutibus  Theologicis,  c.  16,  qusest.  4,  No.  2, 


270  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

choice,  but  she  has  also  defended  their  civil  righta 
and' liberties  against  the  encroachments  of  temporal 
sovereigns.  One  of  the  popular  errors  that  have 
taken  possession  of  some  minds  in  our  times,  is  that 
in  former  days  the  Church  was  leagued  with  princes, 
for  the  oppression  of  the  people.  This  is  a  base 
calumny,  which  a  slight  acquaintance  with  eccb- 
siastical  history  would  soon  dispel. 

The  truth  is,  the  most  unrelenting  enemies  of  the 
Church  have  been  the  princes  of  this  world,  and  so- 
called  Christian  princes,  too. 

The  conflict  between  Church  and  State  has  never 
died  out,  because  the  Church  has  felt  it  to  be  her 
duty,  in  every  age,  to  raise  her  voice  against  the 
despotic  and  arbitrary  measures  of  princes.  And 
as  a  Protestant  American  reviewer1  well  said, 
about  forty  years  ago,  it  was  a  blessing  of  Provi 
dence  that  there  was  a  spiritual  Power  on  earth 
that  could  stand  like  a  wall  of  brass  against  the 
tyranny  of  earthly  sovereigns,  and  say  to  them : 
"  Thus  far  you  shall  go,  and  no  farther,  and  here 
you  shall  break  your  swelling  waves  "  of  passion ; 
a  Power  that  could  say  to  them  what  John  said 
to  Herod:  "This  thing  is  not  lawful  for  thee;"  a 
Power  that  pointed  the  finger  of  reproof  to  them, 
even  when  the  sword  was  pointed  to  her  own  ne<  k, 
and  that  said  to  them  what  Nathan  said  to  David : 
"Thou  art  the  man."  She  told  princes  that  if 
the  people  have  their  obligations,  they  have  theiz 

1  Dr.  Brownson,  who  was  then  a  Protestant. 


CIVIL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  271 

rights,  too ;  that  if  the  subject  must  render  to  Caesar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  Caesar  must  render  to 
God  the  things  that  are  God's. 

Yes ;  the  Church,  while  pursuing  her  divine  mis 
sion  of  leading  souls  to  God,  has  ever  been  the  de 
fender  of  the  people's  rights. 

St.  Ambrose,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  affords  us  a 
striking  instance  of  the  strenuous  efforts  made  by 
the  Catholic  Church  in  vindicating  the  interests  of 
the  citizen  against  the  oppression  of  rulers. 

A  portion  of  the  people  of  Thessalonica  had  com 
mitted  an  outrage  against  the  just  authority  of  the 
Emperor  Theodosius.  The  offence  of  those  citizens 
was  indeed  most  reprehensible;  but  the  Emperor 
requited  the  insult  offered  to  him  by  a  shocking 
and  disproportioned  act  of  retribution,  which  has 
left  an  indelible  stain  upon  his  otherwise  excellent 
character.  The  inhabitants  were  assembled  together 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  witnessing  a  chariot- 
race  ;  and  at  a  given  signal  the  soldiery  fell  upon 
the  people,  and  involved  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren  in  an  indiscriminate  massacre,  to  the  number 
of  about  seven  thousand.  Some  time  after,  the 
Emperor  presented  himself  at  the  Cathedral  of 
Milan ;  but  the  intrepid  Prelate  told  him  that  hia 
hands  were  dripping  with  the  blood  of  his  subjects, 
and  forbade  him  entrance  to  the  church  till  he  had 
made  all  the  reparation  in  his  power  to  the  afflicted 
people  of  Thessalonica. 

People  affect  to  be  shocked  at  the  sentence  of  ex- 


272  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

communication  occasionall^uflicted  by  the  Church 
on  evil-doers.  Here  is  an  instance  of  this  penalty. 
Who  can  complain  of  it  as  being  too  severe  ?  It 
was  a  salutary  punishment,  and  the  only  one  that 
could  bring  rulers  to  a  sense  of  duty. 

The  greatest  bulwark  of  civil  liberty  is  the  famous 
Ma$na  Charta.  It  is  the  foundation  not  only  of 
British,  but  also  of  American  constitutional  free 
dom.  Among  other  blessings  contained  in  this  in 
strument,  it  establishes  trial  by  jury,  and  the  right 
of  Habeas  Corpus,  and  provides  that  there  shall  be 
no  taxation  without  representation. 

Who  were  the  framers  of  this  memorable  charter? 
Archbishop  Langton,  of  Canterbury,  and  the  Cath 
olic  Barons  of  England.  On  the  plains  of  Runny- 
mede,  in  1215,  they  compelled  King  John  to  sign 
that  paper  which  was  the  death-blow  to  his  arbi 
trary  power,  and  the  corner-stone  of  constitutional 
government. 

Turning  to  our  own  country,  it  is  with  no  small 
degree  of  satisfaction  that  I  point  to  the  Statb  of 
Maryland  as  the  cradle  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
and  the  "  land  of  the  sanctuary."  Of  the  thirteen 
original  American  Colonies,  Maryland  was  the  only 
one  that  was  settled  by  Catholics.  She  was  also  the 
only  one  that  spread  aloft  over  her  fair  lands  the 
banner  of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  that  invited  the 
oppressed  of  other  Colonies  to  seek  an  asylum  be 
neath  its  shadow. 

Lest  I  should  be  suspected  of  being  too  partial  in 


CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  273 

my  praise  of  Maryland  toleration,  I  shall  take  all 
my  historical  facts  from  Bancroft,  a  New  England 
Protestant  clergyman. 

Leonard  Calvert,  the  brother  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
and  the  leader  of  the  Catholic  colony,  having  sailed 
from  England  in  the  Ark  and  the  Dove,  reached  his 
destination  on  the  Potomac  in  March,  1634. 

"  The  Catholics  took  quiet  possession  of  the  little 
place,  and  religious  liberty  obtained  a  home,  its  only 
home  in  the  wide  world,  at  the  humble  village  which 
bore  the  name  of  St.  Mary's."  * 

"  The  foundation  of  the  colony  of  Maryland  was 
peacefully  and  happily  laid.  Within  six  months, 
it  had  advanced  more  than  Virginia  had  done  in  as 
many  years.  .  .  .  But  far  more  memorable  was  the 
character  of  the  Maryland  institutions.  Every  other 
country  in  the  world  had  persecuting  laws ;  but 
through  the  benign  administration  of  the  govern 
ment  of  that  province,  no  person  professing  to  be 
lieve  in  Jesus  Christ  was  permitted  to  be  molested 
on  account  of  religion.  Under  the  munificence 
and  superintending  mildness  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
a  dreary  wilderness  was  soon  quickened  with  the 
swarming  life  and  activity  of  prosperous  settle 
ments;  the  Roman  Catholics  who  were  oppressed 
by  the  laws  of  England  were  sure  to  find  a  peaceful 
asylum  in  the  quiet  harbors  of  the  Chesapeake ;  and 
there,  too,  Protestants  were  sheltered  against  Protestant 
intolerance.  Such  were  the  beautiful  auspices  under 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  I.,  ch.  viL 

S 


274  THE  FAITH  OF   OUH  FATHERS. 

which  Maryland  started  into  being.  ...  Its  history  is 
the  history  of  benevolence,  gratitude,  and  toleration."1 

"  Maryland  was  the  abode  of  happiness  and  lib 
erty.  Conscience  was  without  restraint.  A  mild 
and  liberal  proprietary  conceded  every  measure 
which  the  welfare  of  the  colony  required  \  domestic 
union,  a  happy  concert  between  all  the  branches  of 
government,  an  increasing  emigration,  a  productive 
commerce,  a  fertile  soil,  which  heaven  had  richly 
favored  with  rivers  and  deep  bays,  united  to  perfect 
the  scene  of  colonial  felicity.  Ever  intent  on  ad 
vancing  the  interests  of  his  colony,  Lord  Baltimore 
invited  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  to  emigrate  to 
Maryland,  offering  them  lands  and  privileges  and 
free  liberty  of  religion ;  but  Gibbons,  to  whom  he 
had  forwarded  the  commission,  was  so  wholly  tutored 
in  the  New  England  discipline,  that  he  would  not 
advance  the  wishes  of  the  Irish  Peer,  and  so  the  in 
vitation  was  declined."  * 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1649,  the  General  Assembly 
of  Maryland  passed  the  following  Act,  which  will  re 
flect  unfading  glory  on  that  State  as  long  as  liberty 
is  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  men :  "  Whereas  the 
enforcing  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion  hath 
frequently  fallen  out  to  be  of  dangerous  consequence 
in  those  commonwealths  where  it  has  been  practised, 
and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peaceable  government 
of  this  province,  and  the  better  to  preserve  mutual 
love  and  unity  amongst  the  inhabitants,  no  person 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  I.,  ch.  vii. 


CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY.  275 

whatsoever  within  this  province,  professing  to  believe 
in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  from  henceforth  be  anyways 
troubled  or  molested  for  his  or  her  religion,  nor  in 
the  free  exercise  thereof,  nor  any  way  compelled  to 
the  belief  or  exercise  of  any  other  religion  against 
his  or  her  consent."  l 

Upon  this  noble  statute,  Bancroft  makes  the  fol 
lowing  candid  and  judicious  comment :  "The  design 
of  the  law  of  Maryland  was  to  protect  freedom  of 
conscience;  and  some  years  after  it  had  been  con 
firmed,  the  apologist  of  Lord  Baltimore  could  assert 
that  his  government  had  never  given  disturbance  to 
any  person  in  Maryland  for  matter  of  religion ;  that 
the  colonists  enjoyed  freedom  of  conscience,  not  less 
than  freedom  of  person  and  estate,  as  amply  as  ever 
any  people  in  any  place  of  the  world.  The  disfran 
chised  friends  of  Prelacy  from  Massachusetts  and 
the  Puritans  from  Virginia  were  welcomed  to  equal 
liberty  of  conscience  and  political  rights  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  province  of  Maryland." 2 

Five  years  later,  when  the  Puritans  gained  the 
ascendancy  in  Maryland,  they  were  guilty  of  the  in 
famous  ingratitude  of  disfranchising  the  very  Cath 
olic  settlers  by  whom  they  had  been  so  hospitably 
entertained.  They  "  had  neither  the  gratitude  to 
respect  the  rights  of  the  government  by  which  they 
had  been  received  and  fostered,  nor  magnanimity 
to  continue  the  toleration  to  which  alone  they  were 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  I.,  ch.  viL 
Vide  Bacon's  I  aws.  * Ibid. 


27C  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

indebted  for  their  residence  in  the  colony.  An  Act 
concerning  religion,  forbade  liberty  of  conscience  to 
be  extended  to  '  Popery/  '  Prelacy,'  or  '  licentiousness 
of  opinion.' " l 

What  shall  I  say  of  the  prominent  part  that  was 
taken  by  distinguished  representatives  of  the  Cath 
olic  Church  in  the  cause  of  our  American  Indepen 
dence?  What  shall  I  say  of  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton,  who,  at  the  risk  of  sacrificing  his  rich 
.  estates,  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  of 
Rev.  John  Carroll,  afterwards  the  first  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  who,  with  his  cousin  Charles  Carroll 
and  Benjamin  Franklin,  was  sent  by  Congress  to 
Canada  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  people  of 
that  province  in  the  struggle  for  liberty ;  of  Kos- 
ciusko,  Lafayette,  Pulaski,  and  Barry,  and  a  host 
of  other  Catholic  heroes  who  labored  so  effectually 
in  the  same  glorious  cause?  American  patriots, 
without  number  the  Church  has  nursed  in  her 
bosom  ;  a  traitor,  never. 

The  father  of  his  country  was  not  unmindful  of 
these  services.  Shortly  after  his  election  to  the 
Presidency,  replying2  to  an  address  of  his  Catholic 
fellow-citizens,  he  uses  the  following  language :  "  I 
presume  that  your  fellow-citizens  will  not  forgot  the 
patriotic  part  which  you  took  in  the  accomplishment 
of  their  revolution,  and  the  establishment  of  their 
government;  or  the  important  assistance  they  re* 

l  Bancroft's  History  of  the  U.  8.,  Vol.  1.,  ch.  vii.    Vide  Bacon's  Laws. 
2 The  original  of  Washington's  reply  is  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  4 
the  Baltimore  Cathedral. 


CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY.  277 

ceived  from  a  nation  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith  is  professed." 

And  the  Catholics  of  our  generation  have  nobly 
emulated  the  patriotism  and  the  spirit  of  toleration 
exhibited  by  their  ancestors.  They  can  neither  be 
accused  of  disloyalty  or  of  intolerance  to  their  dis 
senting  brethren.  In  more  than  one  instance  of  our 
nation's  history,  our  churches  have  been  desecrated 
and  burned  to  the  ground  ;  our  convents  have  been 
invaded  and  destroyed ;  our  clergy  have  been  ex 
posed  to  insult  and  violence.  These  injuries  have 
been  inflicted  on  us  by  incendiary  mobs  animated 
by  hatred  of  Catholicism.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these 
provocations,  our  Catholic  citizens,  though  wielding 
an  immense  numerical  influence  in  the  localities 
where  they  suffered,  have  never  retaliated.  It  is  in 
a  spirit  of  just  pride  that  we  can  affirm  that  hither 
to  in  the  United  States  no  Protestant  house  of  wor 
ship  or  educational  institution  has  been  destroyed, 
nor  violence  offered  to  a  Protestant  minister,  by 
those  who  profess  the  Catholic  faith.  God  grant 
that  such  may  always  be  our  record. 

And  it  is  just  because  the  Church  has  ever  resisted 
the  tyranny  of  kings,  in  their  encroachments  on  the 
sacred  right  of  conscience,  that  she  has  always  been 
the  victim  of  royal  persecution.  In  every  age,  in  the 
language  of  the  Psalmist,  "  the  kings  of  the  earth 
rose  up,  and  the  princes  assembled  together  against 
the  Lord  and  against  His  Christ." l  The  brightest 


278  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

and  most  thrilling  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history 
are  those  which  record  the  sufferings  of  Popes  and 
Prelates,  at  the  hands  of  temporal  sovereigns,  for 
conscience'  and  for  justice'  sake. 

Take,  for  instance,  St.  John  Chrysostom,  the  great 
Archbishop  of  Constantinople  in  the  fifth  century, 
and  the  idol  of  the  people.  He  had  the  courage, 
like  John  the  Baptist,  to  raise  his  eloquent  voice 
against  the  lasciviousness  of  the  court,  and  partic 
ularly  against  the  Empress  Eudoxia,  who  ruled  like 
another  Jezabel.  He  was  banished  from  his  See, 
treated  with  the  utmost  indignity  by  the  soldiers, 
and  died  in  exile  from  sheer  exhaustion  and  ill 
treatment. 

Witness  Pope  Gregory  VII.,  the  fearless  Hilde- 
brand,  in  his  life-long  struggle  with  the  German  Em 
peror,  Henry  IV.  Gregory  directed  all  the  energies 
of  his  great  mind  towards  reforming  the  abuses  which 
had  crept  into  the  church  of  France  and  Germany  in 
the  eleventh  century.  The  Emperor  of  Germany, 
in  those  days,  assumed  the  right  of  naming  or  ap 
pointing  the  Bishops  throughout  his  empire.  This 
sacred  office  was  commonly  bestowed  on  very  un 
worthy  candidates,  and  very  often  put  up  at  auc 
tion,  to  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  as  is  now  the 
case  with  the  schismatic  Greek  church  in  Turkey. 

These  Bishops  too  often  repaid  their  imperial  ben 
efactor  by  pandering  to  his  passions,  and  by  the 
most  servile  flattery.  The  intrepid  Pope  partially 
succeeded  in  uprooting  the  evil,  though  the  effort 


CIVIL  AND   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  27S 

cost  him  his  life.  The  Emperor  invaded  Rome, 
drove  Gregory  from  his  See,  who  died  uttering 
these  words  with  his  last  breath :  "  I  have  loved 
justice  and  hated  iniquity,  and  therefore  I  die  in 
exile." 

For  the  same  cause,  Thomas  a  Becket,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  was  slain  at  the  altar  by  the  hired 
assassins  of  Henry  II.,  of  England. 

And  observe  how  Pius  VII.  was  treated  by  the 
first  Napoleon  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen 
tury.  The  day-dream  of  Napoleon  was  to  be  master 
of  Europe,  and  to  place  his  brothers  and  friends  on 
the  thrones  of  the  continent,  that  they  might  re 
volve,  like  so  many  satellites,  around  his  throne  in 
France.  Napoleon  makes  two  demands  on  the 
venerable  Pontiff:  1.  That  he  dissolve  the  marriage 
which  had  been  contracted  between  the  Emperor's 
brother,  Jerome,  and  Miss  Patterson,  of  Baltimore. 
His  ostensible  reason  for  having  the  marriage  dis 
solved  was  because  Miss  Patterson  was  a  Protestant ; 
but  his  real  motive  was  to  secure  a  royal  bride  for 
his  brother  instead  of  an  American  lady.  2.  That 
he  close  his  ports  against  the  commerce  of  England, 
with  which  nation  Napoleon  was  then  at  war,  and 
make  common  cause  with  the  Emperor  against  his 
enemies.  The  Pope  rejected  both  demands.  He 
told  the  Emperor  that  the  Church  held  all  mar 
riages  performed  by  her  as  indissoluble,  even  when 
one  of  the  parties  was  not  a  Catholic ;  and  that,  as 
the  common  father  of  Christendom,  he  could  close 
his  port  against  no  Christian  power.  For  refusing 


280  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

to  comply  with  this  second  demand,  the  Pope  was 
arrested  and  sent  into  exile,  where  he  lingered  for 
years. 

And  at  this  very  moment  the  old  conflict  between 
the  Church  and  despotic  governments  is  raging 
fiercely  throughou-t  Europe.  The  scene  enacted 
by  John  and  Herod  is  to-day  reproduced  in  al 
most  every  kingdom  of  the  old  world.  It  is  the 
old  fight  between  brute  force  and  the  God-given 
rights  of  conscience. 

In  Russia  we  see  the  Bishop  of  Plock  exiled  for 
life,  from  his  See,  to  Siberia.  His  only  offence  is 
his  refusal  to  acknowledge  that  the  Emperor  Alex 
ander  is  the  head  of  the  Christian  Church. 

If  we  pass  over  into  Italy,  we  see  religious  men 
and  women  driven  from  their  homes ;  their  housea 
and  libraries  confiscated  —  libraries  which  pious  and 
learned  men  had  been  collecting  and  consulting  for 
ages.  The  only  crime  of  those  religious  is  that  they 
have  not  the  power  to  resist  brute  force. 

Cross  the  Alps  into  France,  and  there  you  will 
see  that  many-headed  monster  the  Commune,  assas 
sinating  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  and  his  clergy, 
solely  because  he  and  they  were  the  representa 
tives  of  law  and  order. 

In  the  so-called  Republic  of  Switzerland,  Bishop 
Mermillod  is  expelled  from  Geneva  without  the 
slightest  charge  adduced  against  his  character  as 
a  citizen  and  a  Christian  Prelate,  Faithful  cler 
gymen  are  deprived  by  the  government  of  their 


CIVIL  AND   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  281 

parochial  rights,  and  renegade  priests  are  intruded 
in  their  place.  The  shepherd  is  driven  away,  and 
wolves  lay  waste  the  fold. 

Go  to  Prussia:  what  do  you  behold  there?  A 
Prime  Minister  flushed  with  his  recent  victories 
over  France.  He  is  not  content  with  seeing  his 
master  wear  the  imperial  crown  of  Germany ;  he 
wants  him  also  to  wear  the  tiara  of  the  Pope.  Like 
Arnan,  the  minister  of  King  Assuerus,  Bismarck  is 
not  satisfied  with  being  second  in  the  kingdom  so 
long  as  Mardochai,  that  is  the  Church,  refuses  to 
bow  down  and  worship  him. 

He  fines  the  venerable  Archbishop  of  Gnesen- 
Posen  and  other  Prussian  Prelates  again  and 
again,  sells  their  furniture,  and  finally  sends  them 
to  prison  for  a  protracted  period.  St.  John  Chry- 
sostom  beautifully  remarks  that  St.  Paul,  elevated 
to  the  third  heaven,  was  glorious  to  contemplate; 
but  that  far  more  glorious  is  Paul  buried  in  the 
dungeons  of  Rome.  I  can  say  in  like  manner,  of 
Archbishop  Ledochowski  of  Poseu,  that  he  was  con 
spicuous  in  the  Vatican  Council  among  his  peers ; 
but  he  was  still  more  conspicuous  sitting  solitary  in 
his  Prussian  prison. 

The  loyalty  of  the  Prussian  clergy  is  above  re 
proach.  The  Bishops  are  imprisoned  because  they 
insist  on  the  right  of  educating  students  for  the 
ministry,  ordaining  and  appointing  clergy,  without 
consulting  the  government.  They  are  denied  a  right 
which  in  this  country  is  possessed  by  Free  Masons, 
and  every  other  human  organization  in  the  land. 
24* 


282  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Perhaps  a  simple  illustration  will  present  to  you 
in  a  clearer  light  the  odious  character  of  the  penal 
laws  to  which  I  have  alluded.  Suppose  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  were  to  issue  a  general 
order  requiring  the  clergy  of  the  various  Christian 
denominations  to  be  educated  in  government  estab 
lishments,  and  forcing  them  to  take  an  oath  before 
entering  on  the  duties  of  the  ministry ;  forbidding, 
also,  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  to  appoint  or  re 
move  any  clergyman  without  permission  of  the 
civil  power  at  Washington.  Would  not  the  Ameri 
can  people  rise  up  in  their  might,  before  they  would 
submit  to  have  such  galling  fetters  forged  on  their 
conscience?  And  yet  this  is  precisely  the  odious 
legislation  which  the  Prussian  government  is  enact 
ing  against  the  Church.  And  the  Catholic  Church, 
in  resisting  these  laws,  is  not  only  fighting  her  own 
battles,  but  she  is  contending  for  the  principle  of 
freedom  of  conscience  everywhere. 

But,  thank  God,  we  live  in  a  country  where  liberty 
of  conscience  is  respected,  and  where  the  civil  con 
stitution  holds  over  us  the  segis  of  her  protection, 
without  intermeddling  with  ecclesiastical  affairs. 
From  my  heart,  I  say:  America,  with  all  thy 
faults,  I  love  thee  still.  And  perhaps  at  this 
moment  there  is  no  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
where  the  Church  is  less  trammeled,  and  where  she 
has  more  liberty  to  carry  out  her  sublime  destiny, 
than  in  these  United  States. 

For  my  part,  I  much  prefer  the  system  which 


CIVIL   AND   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  283 

prevails  in  this  country,  where  the  temporal  needs 
of  the  Church  are  supplied  by  voluntary  contribu 
tions  of  the  faithful,  to  the  system  which  obtains  in 
some  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  where  the  Church 
is  supported  by  the  government,  thereby  making 
feeble  reparation  for  the  gross  injustice  it  has  done 
to  the  Church,  by  its  former  wholesale  confiscation 
of  ecclesiastical  property.  And  the  Church  pays 
dearly  for  this  indemnity ;  for  she  has  to  bear  the 
perpetual  attempts  at  interference  and  the  vexatious 
enactments  of  the  civil  power,  which  aims  at  making 
her  wholly  dependent  upon  itself. 

Some  years  ago,  in  company  with  the  late  Arch 
bishop  Spalding,  on  my  return  from  Rome,  I  paid  a 
visit  to  the  Bishop  of  Annecy,  in  Savoy.  I  was 
struck  by  the  splendor  of  his  palace,  and  saw  a 
sentinel  at  the  door,  placed  there  by  the  French 
government,  as  a  guard  of  honor.  But  the  vener 
able  Bishop  soon  disabused  me  of  my  favorable  im 
pressions.  He  told  me  that  he  was  in  a  state  of 
gilded  slavery.  I  cannot,  said  he,  build  as  much 
as  a  sacristy  without  obtaining  permission  of  the 
government. 

I  do  not  wish  to  see  the  day  when  the  Church  will 
invoke  or  receive  any  government  aid  to  build  our 
churches,  or  to  pay  the  salary  of  our  clergy ;  for, 
the  government  may  then  begin  to  dictate  to  us 
what  doctrines  we  ought  to  preach.  And  in  pro 
portion  as  state  patronage  would  increase,  the  sym- 
pavhy  and  aid  of  the  faithful  would  diminish. 


284  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

May  the  happy  condition  of  things  now  existing 
among  us  always  continue,  when  the  relations  be 
tween  the  clergy  and  the  people  will  be  direct  and 
immediate:  when  Bishops  and  Priests  will  bestow 
upon  their  spiritual  children  their  voluntary  labors, 
their  tender  solicitude,  their  paternal  affection,  and 
pour  out  like  water  their  hearts'  blood,  if  necessary ; 
and  when  they  will  receive  in  return  the  free-will 
offerings, —  the  devotion  and  gratitude  of  a  filial 
people. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CHARGES   OF   RELIGIOUS    PERSECUTION. 

THE    SPANISH    INQUISITION — THE    MASSACRE    OF   ST.  BAR 
THOLOMEW —  QUEEN   MARY   OF   ENGLAND. 


BUT  did  not  the  Spanish  Inquisition  exercise  enor 
mous  cruelties  against  heretics  and  Jews?  I  am 
not  the  apologist  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  and  I 
have  no  desire  to  palliate  or  excuse  the  excesses  into 
which  that  tribunal  may  at  times  have  fallen.  From 
my  heart  I  abhor  and  denounce  every  species  of  vio 
lence,  and  injustice,  and  persecution  of  which  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  may  have  been  guilty.  And  in 
raising  my  voice  against  coercion  for  conscience'  sake, 
I  am  expressing  not  only  my  own  sentiments,  but 
those  of  every  Catholic  Priest  and  layman  in  the  land. 


RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION.  280 

Our  Catholic  ancestors,  for  the  last  three  hundred 
years,  have  suffered  so  much  for  freedom  of  con 
science,  that  they  would  rise  up  in  judgment  against 
us,  were  we  to  become  the  advocates  and  defenders 
of  religious  persecution.  We  would  be  a  disgrace 
to  our  sires,  were  we  to  trample  on  the  principle  of 
liberty  which  they  held  dearer  than  life. 

And  when  I  denounce  the  cruelties  of  the  Inqui 
sition,  I  am  not  standing  aloof  from  the  Church,  but 
I  am  treading  in  her  footprints.  Bloodshed  and 
persecution  form  no  part  of  the  creed  of  the  Cath 
olic  Church.  So  much  does  she  abhor  the  shedding 
of  blood,  that  a  man  becomes  disqualified  to  serve 
as  a  minister  at  her  altars  who,  by  act  or  counsel, 
voluntarily  sheds  the  blood  of  another.  Before  you 
can  convict  the  Church  of  intolerance,  you  must  first 
bring  forward  some  authentic  act  of  her  Popes  or 
Councils  sanctioning  the  policy  of  vengeance.  In 
all  my  readings,  I  have  yet  to  find  one  decree  of 
hers  advocating  torture  or  death  for  conscience' 
sake.  She  is  indeed  intolerant  of  error ;  but  her 
only  weapons  against  error  are  those  pointed  out 
by  St.  Paul  to  Timothy:  "Preach  the  word;  be 
instant  in  season,  out  of  season ;  reprove,  entreat ; 
rebuke  with  all  patience  and  doctrine." 1 

But  you  will  tell  me :  Were  not  the  authors  of 
the  Inquisition  children  of  the  Church,  and  did 
they  not  exercise  their  enormities  in  her  name? 
Granted.  But  I  ask  you :  Is  it  just  or  fair  to  hold 

1 II.  Tim.  iv.  2. 


286  THE   FAITH   OF  OFR   FATHERS. 

the  Church  responaible  for  those  acts  of  her  children 
which  she  disowDs  ?  You  do  not  denounce  liberty 
as  a  mockery,  because  many  crimes  are  committed 
in  her  name ;  neither  do  you  hold  a  father  account 
able  for  the  sins  of  his  disobedient  children. 

We  should  also  bear  in  mind  that  the  Spaniards 
were  not  the  only  people  who  have  proscribed  men 
for  the  exercise  of  their  religious  belief.  If  we 
calmly  study  the  history  of  other  nations,  our  en 
mity  towards  Spain  will  considerably  relax,  and 
we  shall  have  to  reserve  for  her  neighbors  a  por 
tion  of  our  indignation.  No  impartial  student  of 
history  will  deny  that  the  leaders  of  the  Reformed 
religions,  whenever  they  gained  the  ascendancy,  ex 
ercised  violence  towards  those  who  differed  from 
them  in  faith.  I  mention  this  not  by  way  of  re 
crimination,  nor  in  palliation  of  the  proscriptions 
of  the  Spanish  government;  for  one  offence  is  not 
justified  by  another.  My  object  is  merely  to  show  . 
that  "those  who  live  in  glass  houses  should  not 
throw  stones;"  and  that  it  is  not  honest  to  make 
Spain  the  scapegoat,  bearing  alone  on  her  shoulders 
the  odium  of  religious  intolerance. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  John  Calvin 
burned  Michael  Servetus  at  the  stake  for  heresy ; 
and  the  arch-reformer  not  only  avowed  but  also 
justified  the  deed  in  his  writings,  and  established 
in  Geneva  an  Inquisition  for  the  punishment  of 
refractory  Christians. 

It'  should  also  be  remembered    that   Luther  ad- 


RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION.  287 

vocated  the  most  merciless  doctrine  towards  the 
Jews.  According  to  his  apologist  Seckendorf,  the 
German  Reformer  said  that  their  synagogues  ought 
to  be  destroyed,  their  houses  pulled  down,  their 
prayer-books,  and  even  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  to  be  taken  from  them.  Their  rabbis  ought 
to  be  forbidden  to  teach,  and  be  compelled  to  gain 
their  livelihood  by  hard  labor. 

It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  Henry  VIII. 
and  his  successors  for  many  generations,  inflicted 
fines,  imprisonment,  and  death  on  thousands  of  their 
subjects  for  denying  the  spiritual  supremacy  of  the 
temporal  sovereign.  This  galling  Inquisition  lasted 
for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  and  the  severity 
of  its  decrees  scarcely  finds  a  parallel  in  the  Span 
ish  Inquisition.  Prescott  avows  that  the  adminis 
tration  of  Elizabeth  was  "  not  a  whit  less  despotic, 
and  scarcely  less  sanguinary  than  " 1  that  of  Isabella. 
The  clergy  of  Ireland,  under  Cromwell,  were  ordered, 
under  pain  of  death,  to  quit  their  country,  and  theo 
logical  students  were  obliged  to  pursue  their  studies 
in  foreign  seminaries.  Any  Priest  who  dared  to  re 
turn  to  his  native  country  forfeited  his  life.  Who 
ever  harbored  a  Priest  suffered  death,  and  those  who 
knew  his  hiding-place,  and  did  not  reveal  it  to  the 
Inquisitors,  had  both  their  ears  cut  off. 

At  this  very  moment,  not  only  in  England,  but  in 
Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Holland,  Protestants  are  wor 
shiping  in  some  of  the  churches  erected  by  the 

»  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Vol.  III.,  p.  202. 


THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

piety  of  our  Catholic  forefathers,  and  wrested  from 
them  by  violence. 

Observe,  also,  that  in  all  these  instances  the  per 
secutions  were  inflicted  by  the  express  authority  of 
the  founders  and  heads  of  Protestant  churches. 

The  Puritans  of  New  England  inflicted  summary 
vengeance  on  those  who  were  rash  enough  to  difl'er 
from  them  in  religion.  IH  Massachusetts,  "the 
Quakers  were  whipped,  branded,  had  their  ears  cut 
off,  their  tongues  bored  with  hot  irons,  and  were 
banished  upon  the  pain  of  death  in  case  of  their  re 
turn,  and  actually  executed  upon  the  gallows."1 
And  who  is  ignorant  of  the  number  of  innocent 
creatures  that  suffered  death  in  the  same  State  on 
the  ridiculous  charge  of  witchcraft  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century?  Well  does  it  become 
their  descendants  to  taunt  Catholics  with  the  horrors 
of  the  Spanish  Inquisition ! 

In  the  religious  riots  of  Philadelphia  in  1844, 
several  Catholic  churches  were  burned  down  in  the 
name  of  Protestantism,  and  houses  were  sacked.  I 
was  informed  by  an  eye-witness,  that  owners  of 
houses  were  obliged  to  mark  on  their  doors  these 
words,  this  house  belongs  to  Protestants,  in  order  to 
save  their  property  from  the  infuriated  incendiaries. 
For  these  acts,  I  never  heard  of  any  retaliation  on 
the  part  of  Catholics,  and  I  hope  I  never  shall,  no 
matter  how  formidable  may  be  their  numbers  and 
tempting  the  provocation. 

1  Blue  Laws. 


RELIGIOUS    PERSECUTION.  289 

And  in  spite  of  the  boasted  toleration  of  our 
times,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  still  lurks  a 
spirit  of  inquisition,  which  does  not,  indeed,  vent  it 
self  in  physical  violence,  but  is,  nevertheless,  most 
galling  to  its  victims.  How  many  persons  have  1 
met  in  the  course  of  my  ministry,  who  were  ostra 
cized  by  their  kindred  and  friends,  driven  from  home, 
nay,  disinherited  by  their  parents,  for  the  sole  crime 
of  carrying  out  the  very  shibboleth  of  Protestantism 
—  the  exercise  of  private  judgment,  and  of  obeying 
the  dictates  of  their  conscience,  by  embracing  the 
Catholic  faith  !  Is  not  this  the  most  exquisite  tor 
ture  that  can  be  inflicted  on  refined  natures? 

Ah  !  there  is  an  imprisonment  more  lonely  than 
the  dungeon  ;  it  is  the  imprisonment  of  our  most 
cherished  thoughts  in  our  own  hearts,  without  a 
member  of  the  family  to  communicate  with. 

There  is  a  sword  more  keen  than  the  executioner's 
knife ;  it  is  the  envenomed  tongue  of  obloquy  and 
abuse.  There  is  a  banishment  less  tolerable  than 
exile  from  one's  country  ;  it  is  the  excommunication 
from  the  paternal  roof,  and  from  the  affections  of 
those  we  love. 

Have  I  a  right  to  hold  the  members  of  the  Epis* 
copal,  Lutheran,  Presbyterian,  and  Congregationalist 
3hurches  responsible  for  these  prescriptive  measures 
to  which  I  have  referred,  most  of  which  have  been 
authorized  by  their  respective  founders  and  leaders? 
God  forbid !  For  I  know  full  well  that  these  acts  of 
cruelty  form  no  part  of  the  creed  of  the  Protestant 
25  T 


290  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR  FATHEBS. 

churches.  I  have  been  acquainted  with  Protestants 
from  my  youth.  They  have  been  among  my  most 
intimate  and  cherished  friends,  and,  from  my  knowl 
edge  of  them,  I  am  convinced  that  they  would  dis 
countenance  any  physical  violence  which  would  be 
inflicted  on  their  fellow-citizens  on  account  of  their 
religious  convictions.  They  would  justly  tell  me 
that  the  persecutions  of  former  years  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  should  be  ascribed  to  the  peculiar  and 
unhappy  state  of  society  in  which  their  ancestors 
lived,  rather  than  to  the  inherent  principles  of  their 
religion. 

And  for  precisely  the  same  reasons,  and  for  reasons 
still  more  forcible,  Protestants  should  not  reproach 
the  Catholic  Church  for  the  atrocities  of  the  Spanish 
Inquisition.  For,  the  persecutions  to  which  I  have 
alluded,  were  for  the  most  part  perpetrated  by  the 
founders  and  heads  of  the  Protestant  churches  •,  while 
the  rigors  of  the  Spanish  tribunal  were  inflicted  by 
laymen  and  subordinate  ecclesiastics,  either  with 
out  the  knowledge  or  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the 
Bishops  of  Rome. 

Let  us  now  present  the  Inquisition  in  its  true 
light.  In  the  first  place,  the  number  of  its  victims 
has  been  wildly  exaggerated,  as  even  Prescott  is 
forced  to  admit.  The  popular  historian  of  the 
Inquisition  is  Llorente,  from  whom  our  American 
authors  generally  derive  their  information  on  this 
subject.  Now  who  was  Llorente?  He  was  a  de 
graded  Priest,  who  was  dismissed  from  the  Board 


RELIGIOUS   PERSECUTION.  291 

of  Inquisitors,  of  which  he  had  been  Secretary. 
Actuated  by  interest  and  revenge,  he  wrote  his  his 
tory  at  the  instance  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  the  new 
King  of  Spain,  and,  to  please  his  royal  master,  he 
did  all  he  could  to  blacken  the  character  of  that 
institution.  His  testimony,  therefore,  should  be  re 
ceived  with  great  reserve.  To  give  you  one  instance 
of  his  unreliability,  he  quotes  the  historian  Mariana 
as  his  authority  for  saying  that  two  thousand  persons 
were  put  to  death  in  one  year  in  the  dioceses  alone 
of  Seville  and  Cadiz.  By  referring  to  the  pages  of 
Mariana,  we  find  that  author  saying  that  two  thou 
sand  were  put  to  death  in  all  Spain  during  the  entire 
administration  of  Torquemada,  which  embraced  a  period 
of  fifteen  years. 

Before  beginning  to  examine  the  character  of  this 
tribunal,  it  must  be  clearly  understood  that  the 
Spanish  Inquisition  was  not  a  purely  ecclesiastical 
institution,  but  a  mixed  tribunal.  It  was  conceived 
systematized,  regulated  in  all  its  procedures  and 
judgments,  equipped  with  officers  and  powers,  and 
its  executions,  fines,  and  confiscations  were  carried 
out  by  the  royal  authority  alone,  and  not  by  the 
Church.1 

To  understand  the  true  character  of  the  Spanish 
Inquisition,  and  the  motives  which  prompted  King 
Ferdinand  in  establishing  that  tribunal,  we  must 

1  For  an  impartial  account  of  the  Inquisition,  the  readei 
is  referred  to  the  "  Letters  on  the  Spanish  Inquisition,"  by 
the  Count  de  Maistre. 


292  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

take  a  glance  at  the  internal  condition  of  Spain  at 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  After  a  struggle 
of  eight  centuries,  the  Spanish  nation  succeeded  in 
overthrowing  the  Moors,  and  in  planting  the  national 
flag  over  the  entire  country.  At  last  the  Cross  con 
quered  the  Crescent,  and  Christianity  triumphed 
over  Mahometanism.  The  empire  was  consolidated 
under  the  joint  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

But  there  still  remained  elements  of  discord  in  the 
nation.  The  population  was  composed  of  three  con 
flicting  races  —  the  Spaniards,  Moors,  and  Jews.  Per 
haps  the  difficulties  which  beset  our  own  Government 
in  its  efforts  to  harmonize  the  white,  the  Indian,  and 
the  colored  population  will  give  us  some  idea  of  the 
formidable  obstacles  with  which  the  Spanish  court 
had  to  contend  in  its  efforts  to  cement  into  one  na 
tion  a  conquering  and  a  conquered  people  of  different 
race  and  religion. 

The  Jews  and  the  Moors  were  disaffected  towards 
the  Spanish  government  not  only  on  political,  but 
also  on  religious  grounds.  They  were  suspected, 
and  not  unjustly,  of  desiring  to  transfer  their  al 
legiance  from  the  King  of  Spain  to  the  King  of 
Barbary,  or  the  Grand  Turk. 

The  Spanish  Inquisition  was  accordingly  erected 
by  King  Ferdinand,  less  from  motives  of  religious 
zeal  than  from  those  of  human  policy.  It  was  es 
tablished,  not  so  much  with  the  view  of  preserving 
the  Catholic  faith,  as  of  perpetuating  the  integrity 
of  hi?  kingdom.  The  Moors  and  Jews  were  looked 


RELIGIOUS   PERSECUTION".  293 

upon  not  only  as  enemies  of  the  altar,  but  chiefly  as 
enemies  of  the  throne.  Catholics  were  upheld  not 
for  their  faith  alone,  but  because  they  united  faith 
to  loyalty.  The  baptized  Moors  and  Israelites  were 
oppressed  for  their  heresy  because  their  heresy  was 
allied  to  sedition. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  those  days  heresy, 
especially  if  outspoken,  was  regarded  not  only  as  an 
offence  against  religion,  but  also  as  a  crime  against 
the  state,  and  was  punished  accordingly.  This  con 
dition  of  things  was  not  confined  to  Catholic  Spain, 
but  prevailed  across  the  sea  in  Protestant  England. 
We  find  Henry  VIII.  and  his  successors  pursuing 
the  same  policy  in  Great  Britain  towards  their 
Catholic  subjects,  and  punishing  Catholicism  as  a 
crime  against  the  state,  just  as  Islamism  and  Juda 
ism  were  proscribed  in  Spain. 

It  was,  therefore,  rather  a  royal  and  political 
than  an  ecclesiastical  institution.  The  King  nom 
inated  the  Inquisitors,  who  were  equally  composed 
of  lay  and  clerical  officials.  He  dismissed  them  at 
will.  From  the  King,  and  not  from  the  Pope,  they 
derived  their  jurisdiction,  and  into  the  King's  cof 
fers,  and  not  into  the  Pope's,  went  all  the  emolu 
ments  accruing  from  fines  and  confiscations.  In  a 
word,  the  authority  of  the  Inquisition  began  and 
ended  with  the  crown. 

In  confirmation  of  these  assertions,  I  shall  quote 
from  Rauke,  a  German  Protestant  historian,  who 
cannot  be  suspected  of  partiality  to  the  Catholic 
25* 


294  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

Church.  "  In  the  first  place,"  says  this  author, 
"the  Inquisitors  were  royal  officers.  The  Kings 
had  the  right  of  appointing  and  dismissing  them. 
.  .  The  courts  of  the  Inquisition  were  subject, 
like  other  magistracies,  to  royal  visitors.  '  Do  you 
not  know/  said  the  King  (to  Ximenes),  'that  if 
this  tribunal  possesses  jurisdiction,  it  is  from  the 
King  it  derives  it  ? ' 

"In  the  second  place,  all  the  profit  of  the  confis 
cations  by  this  court  accrued  to  the  King.  These 
were  carried  out  in  a  very  unsparing  manner. 
Though  the  fueros  (privileges)  of  Aragon  ibrbade 
the  King  to  confiscate  the  property  of  his  con 
victed  subjects,  he  deemed  himself  exalted  above 
the  law  in  matters  pertaining  to  this  court.  .  .  . 
The  proceeds  of  these  confiscations  formed  a  sort 
of  regular  income  for  the  royal  exchequer.  It 
was  even  believed,  and  asserted  from  the  begin 
ning,  that  the  Kings  had  been  moved  to  establish 
and  countenance  this  tribunal  more  by  their  hank 
ering  after  the  wealth  it  confiscated  than  by  mo 
tives  of  piety. 

"  In  the  third  place,  it  was  the  Inquisition,  and 
the  Inquisition  alone,  that  completely  shut  out  all 
extraneous  interference  with  the  state.  The  sover 
eign  had  now  at  his  disposal  a  tribunal  from  which 
no  grandee,  no  Archbishop,  could  withdraw  himself. 
As  Charles  knew  no  other  means  of  bringing  certain 
punishment  on  the  Bishops  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
insurrection  of  the  Communidades  (or  communes  who 


RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION".  295 

were  struggling  for  their  rights  and  liberties),  ho 
chose  to  have  them  judged  by  the  Inquisition.  .  .  . 

"  It  was  in  spirit  and  tendency  a  political  institu 
tion.  The  Pope  had  an  interest  in  thwarting  it,  and 
he  did  so;  but  the  King  had  an  interest  in  con 
stantly  upholding  it." l 

That  the  Inquisition  acted  independently  of  the 
Holy  See,  and  that  even  the  Catholic  hierarchy 
fell  under  the  ban  of  this  royal  tribunal,  is  also 
apparent  from  the  following  fact:  After  the  con 
vening  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  Bartholomew  Car- 
anza,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  was  arrested  by  the 
Inquisition  on  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  his  release 
from  prison  could  not  be  obtained  either  by  the 
interposition  of  Pius  IV.  or  the  remonstrance  of 
the  Council. 

It  is  true  that  Sixtus  IV.,  yielding  to  the  impor 
tunities  of  Queen  Isabella,  consented  to  its  establish 
ment,  being  advised  that  it  was  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  order  in  the  kingdom ;  but  in  1481, 
the  year  following  its  introduction,  when  the  Jews 
complained  to  him  of  its  severity,  the  same  Pontiff 
issued  a  Bull  against  the  Inquisitors,  as  Prescott  in 
forms  us,  in  which  "he  rebuked  their  intemperate 
zeal,  and  even  threatened  them  with  deprivation." 
He  wrote  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  that  "  mercy 
towards  the  guilty  was  more  pleasing  to  God  than 
the  severity  which  they  were  using." 

When  the  Pope  could  not  eradicate  the  evil,  he 

1The  Ottoman  and  Spanish  Empires,  by  Leopold  Rarike. 


296  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

encouraged  the  sufferers  to  flee  to  Rome,  where  they 
found  an  asylum,  and  where  he  took  the  fugitives 
under  his  protection.  In  two  years  he  received  four 
hundred  and  fifty  refugees  from  Spain.  Did  the 
Pontiff  send  them  back,  or  did  he  inflict  vengeance 
on  them  at  home  ?  Far  from  it ;  they  were  restored 
to  all  the  rights  of  citizens.  How  can  we  imagine 
that  the  Pope  would  encourage  in  Spain  the  legal 
ized  murder  of  men  whom  he  protected  from  vio 
lence  in  his  own  city,  where  he  might  have  crushed 
them  with  impunity?  I  can  find  no  authenticated 
instance  of  any  Pope  putting  to  death,  in  his  own 
dominions,  a  single  individual  for  his  religious  belief. 

Moreover,  sometimes  the  Pope,  when  he  could 
not  reach  the  victims,  censured  and  excommunicated 
the  Inquisitor,  and  protected  the  children  of  those 
whose  property  was  confiscated  to  the  crown. 

After  a  struggle,  he  succeeded  in  preventing  the 
Spanish  government  from  establishing  its  Inquisi 
tion  in  Naples  or  Milan,  which  then  belonged  to 
Spain,  so  great  was  his  abhorrence  of  its  cruelties. 

To  sum  up :  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that 
the  Church  disavows  all  responsibility  for  the 
excesses  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  because  oppres 
sion  forms  no  part  of  her  creed  ;  that  these  atrocities 
have  been  grossly  exaggerated  ;  that  the  Inquisition 
was  a  political  tribunal ;  that  Catholic  Prelates 
were  amenable  to  its  sentence  as  well  as  Moors 
and  Jews,  and  that  the  Popes  denounced  and 
labored  hard  to  abolish  its  sanguinary  features. 


BE'LIGIOUS  PERSECUTION-.  297 

And  yst  Rome  has  to  bear  all  the  odium  of  the 
Inquisition ! 

I  heartily  pray  that  religious  intolerance  may 
never  take  root  in  our  favored  land.  May  the  only 
king  to  force  our  conscience  be  the  King  of  kings ; 
may  the  only  prison  erected  among  us  for  the  sin  of 
unbelief  or  misbelief  be  the  prison  of  a  troubled  con 
science;  and  may  our  only  motive  for  embracing 
truth  be  not  the  fear  of  man,  but  the  love  of  truth 
and  of  God. 

II. 

What  about  the  massacre  of  Si.  Bartholomew  f 
I  have  no  words  strong  enough  to  express  my  de 
testation  of  that  inhuman  slaughter.  It  is  true  that 
the  number  of  its  victims  has  been  grossly  exagger 
ated  by  partisan  writers,  but  that  is  no  extenuation 
of  the  crime  itself.  But  I  most  emphatically  assert 
that  the  Church  had  no  act  or  part  in  this  atrocious 
butchery,  except  to  deplore  the  event  and  weep  over 
its  unhappy  victims.  Here  are  the  facts  briefly  pre 
sented  : 

1.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  IX.  of  France,  the 
Huguenots  were  a  formidable  power  and  a  seditious 
element  in  that  country.  They  were  under  the 
leadership  of  Admiral  Coliguy,  who  was  plotting 
the  overthrow  of  the  ruling  monarch.  The  French 
King,  instigated  by  his  mother,  Catherine  de  Medicis, 
and  fearing  the  influence  of  Coligny,  whom  he  re 
garded  as  an  aspirant  to  the  throne,  compassed  his 


298  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

assassination,  as  well  as  that  of  his  followers  in 
Paris,  August  24th  1572.  This  deed  of  violence 
was  followed  by  an  indiscriminate  massacre  in  the 
French  capital,  and  other  cities  of  France,  by  an  in 
cendiary  populace,  who  are  easily  aroused  but  not 
easily  appeased. 

2.  Religion  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  massacre. 
Coligny  and  his  fellow  Huguenots  were  slain  not  on 
account  of  their  creed,  but  exclusively  on  account 
of  their  alleged  treasonable  designs.     If  they  had 
nothing  but  their  Protestant  faith  to  render  them 
odious   to   King   Charles,  they  would   never   have 
been    molested;    for,   neither   did    Charles   nor   his 
mother  ever  manifest  any  special  zeal  for  the  Cath 
olic  Church,  nor  any  special  aversion  to  Protestant 
ism,  unless  when  it  threatened  the  throne. 

3.  Immediately  after   the   massacre,  Charles  de 
spatched   an   envoy  extraordinary  to  each  of  the 
courts   of  Europe,  conveying   the  startling  intelli 
gence  that  the  King  and  royal  family  had  narrowly 
escaped  from  a  horrible   conspiracy,  and   that   its 
authors  had  been  detected  and  summarily  punished. 
The  envoys,  in  their  narration,  carefully  suppressed 
any  allusion  to  the  indiscriminate  massacre  which 
had  taken  place,  but  announced  the  event  in  the  fol 
lowing  words :  On  that  "  memorable  night,  by  the 
destruction  of  a  few  seditious  men,  the  King  had 
been  delivered    from   immediate   danger  of  death, 
and  the  realm  from  the  perpetual  terror  of  civiJ 
war." 


flELIGIOUS   PERSECUTION'.  299 

Pope  Gregory  XIIL,  to  whom  also  an  envoy  was 
sent,  acting  on  this  garbled  information,  ordered  a 
"  Te  Deum "  to  be  sung,  and  a  commemorative 
medal  to  be  struck  off  in  thanksgiving  to  God,  not 
for  the  massacre,  of  which  he  was  utterly  ignorant, 
but  for  the  preservation  of  the  French  King  from 
an  untimely  and  violent  death,  and  of  the  French 
nation  from  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war. 

Sismondi,  a  Protestant  historian,  tells  us  that  the 
Pope's  nuncio  in  Paris  was  purposely  kept  in  igno 
rance  of  the  designs  of  Charles ;  and  Ranke,  in  his 
History  of  the  Civil  Wars,  informs  us  that  Charles 
and  his  mother  suddenly  left  Paris  in  order  to  avoid 
an  interview  with  the  Pope's  legate,  who  arrived 
soon  after  the  massacre;  their  guilty  conscience 
fearing,  no  doubt,  a  rebuke  from  the  messenger  of 
the  Vicar  of  Christ,  from  whom  the  real  facts  were 
not  long  concealed. 

4.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  vindicate  the  inno 
cence  of  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  France  in  this 
transaction,  as  no  author,  how  hostile  soever  to  the 
Church,  has  ever,  to  my  knowledge,  accused  them 
of  any  complicity  in  the  heinous  massacre. 

On  the  contrary,  they  used  their  best  efforts  in 
arresting  the  progress  of  the  assailants,  in  prevent 
ing  more  bloodshed,  and  in  protecting  the  lives  of 
the  fugitives.  More  than  three  hundred  Calvinists 
were  sheltered  from  the  assassins  by  taking  refuge 
in  the  house  of  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons.  The 
Bishops  of  Lisieux,  Bordeaux,  Toulouse,  and  of  other 


800  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

cities,  rendered  similar  protection  to  those  who  sought 
safety  in  their  homes. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Church  slept  in  tranquil 
ignorance  of  the  stormy  scene  until  she  was  aroused 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  tempest  by  the  sudden  uproar 
it  created.  And  like  her  divine  Spouse  on  the 
troubled  waters,  she  presents  herself  only  to  say  to 
them:  u  Peace,  be  still." 

III. 

I  am  asked :  Must  you  not  admit  that  Mary,  Queen 
of  England,  persecuted  the  Protestants  of  the  British 
realm  f  I  ask  this  question  in  reply :  How  w  it  that 
Catholics  are  persistently  reproached  for  the  persecutions 
under  Mary's  reign,  while  scarcely  a  voice  is  raised  in 
condemnation  of  the  legalized  fines,  confiscations,  and 
deaths  inflicted  on  the  Catholics  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  for  three  hundred  years, — from  the  establish 
ment  of  the  church  of  England,  in  1534,  to  the  time  of 
the  Catholic  emancipation?  Elizabeth's  hands  were 
steeped  in  the  blood  of  Catholics,  Puritans,  and  Ana 
baptists.  Why  are  these  cruelties  suppressed  or 
glossed  over,  while  those  of  Mary  form  the  bur 
den  of  every  nursery  tale  ?  Is  it  because  persecu 
tion  becomes  justice  when  Catholics  happen  to  be 
the  victims ;  or  is  it  because  they  are  expected,  from 
long  usage,  to  be  insensible  to  torture  ? 

If  we  weigh  in  the  scales  of  impartial  justice  the 
reigns  of  both  sisters,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  bring 
a  far  more  severe  verdict  against  Elizabeth. 


RELIGIOUS  PERSECUTION.  301 

1.  Mary  reigned  only  five  years  and  four  months. 
Elizabeth's   reign  lasted  forty-four  years  and  four 
months,     The  younger  sister,  therefore,  swayed  the 
eceptre  of  authority  nearly  nine  times  longer  than 
the  elder;  and  the  number  of  Catholics  who  suffered 
for  their  faith  during  the  long  administration  of 
Elizabeth   may  be  safely  said  to  exceed  in  the  same 
proportion  the  victims  of  Mary's  reign.      Hallam 
asserts  that  "  the  rack  seldom  stood  idle  in  the  tower 
for  all  the  latter  part  of  Elizabeth's  reign ; " l  and  its' 
very  first  mouth  was  stained  by  an  in  tolerant  statute." 

2.  The  most  unpardonable  act  of  Mary's  life,  in 
the  judgment  of  her  critics,  was  the  execution  of 
Lady  Jane  Grey.     But  Lady  Jane  was  guilty  of  high 
treason,  having   usurped   the   throne   of  Eugland, 
which  she  occupied  for  nine  days. 

Elizabeth  put  to  death  her  cousin  Mary,  Queen 
of  Scots,  after  a  long  imprisonment,  on  the  unsus- 
tained  charge  of  aspiring  to  the  English  throne. 

3.  Mary's  zeal  was  exercised  in  behalf  of  the  re 
ligion  of  her  forefathers,  and  of  the  faith  established 
in  England  for  nearly  a  thousand  years. 

Elizabeth's  zeal  was  employed  in  extending  the  new 
creed  introduced  by  her  father  in  a  moment  of  passion, 
and  modified  by  herself.  Surely,  the  coercive  enforce 
ment  of  a  new  creed  is  more  odious  than  the  rigoroua 
maintenance  of  the  time-honored  faith  of  a  nation. 

Mary,  therefore, insisted  on  perpetuating  the  estab 
lished  order  of  things  ;  Elizabeth,  on  subverting  it. 

1  Constitutional  History :  Elizabeth,  Chap.  IIL 

1  See  Lingard,  Vol.  VII.,  pp.  244-5. 

26 


302  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

4.  The  elder  sister  was  propagating  what  she  be 
lieved  to  be  the  unchangeable  and  infallible   doc 
trines  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  younger  sister  was  pro 
pagating  her  own  and  her  father's  novel  and  more 
or  less  uncertain  opinions. 

5.  While  Mary  had  no  private  or  personal  motives 
in  oppressing  Protestants,  Elizabeth's  hostility  to  the 
Catholic  Church  was  intensified,  if  not  instigated,  by 
her  hatred  of  the  Pope,  who  had  declared  her  ille 
gitimate.     Her  legitimacy  before  the  world  depended 
on  the  success  of  the  new  religion,  which  had  legal 
ized  her  father's  divorce  from  Catherine. 

6.  Hence,  as  Macaulay  says,  Mary  was  sincere  in 
her  religion ;  Elizabeth  was  not.   "  Having  no  scruple 
about  conforming  to  the  Romish  Church  when  con 
formity  was  necessary  to  her  own  safety,  retaining 
to  the  last  moment  of  her  life  a  fondness  for  much 
of  the  doctrine  and  much  of  the  ceremonial  of  that 
Church,  she  yet  subjected  that  Church  to  a  persecu 
tion   even   more   odious  than  the  persecution  with 
which    her    sister    had    harassed   the   Protestants. 
Mary  ....  did  nothing  for  her  religion  which  she 
was  not  prepared  to  suffer  for  it.     She  had  held  it 
firmly  under  persecution.     She  fully  believed  it  to 
be  essential  to  salvation.     Elizabeth,  in  opinion,  was 
little  more  than  half  a  Protestant.     She  had  pro 
fessed,  when  it  suited  her,  to  be  wholly  a  Catholic.  .  .  . 
What  can  be  said  in  defence  of  a  ruler  who  is  at 
once  indifferent  and  intolerant  ?  " l 

1  Review  of  Nares'  Memoirs  of  Lord  Burghley. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF   BAPTISM.  303 

An  intelligent  gentleman  in  North  Carolina  once 
said  to  me  tauntingly,  What  do  you  think  of  bloody 
Mary  ?  Did  you  ever  hear,  I  replied,  of  her  sister's 
cruelties  to  Catholics  ?  He  answered  that  he  never 
read  of  that  mild  woman  persecuting  for  conscience* 
sake.  I  was  amazed  at  his  words,  until  he  acknowl 
edged  that  his  historical  library  was  comprised  in 
one  work  —  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reforma 
tion.  That  veracious  author  has  prudently  sup 
pressed,  or  delicately  touched,  Elizabeth's  pecca 
dilloes  as  not  coming  within  the  scope  of  his  plan. 
How  many  are  found,  like  our  North  Carolina  gen 
tleman,  who  are  familiar  from  their  childhood  with 
the  name  of  Smithfield,  but  who  never  once  heard  of 
Tyburn  I 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GRACE  —  THE  SACRAMENTS  —  ORIGINAL  SIN  — 

TISM  —  ITS   NECESSITY  —  ITS   EFFECTS  —  MANNER 
OF   BAPTIZING. 

THE  grace  of  God  is  that  supernatural  assistance 
which  He  imparts  to  us,  through  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  our  salvation.     It  is  called  super 
natural,  because  no  one  by  his  own  natural  ability 
can  acquire  it. 

Without  divine  grace,  we  can  neither  conceive 
nor  accomplish  anything  for  the  sanctification  of  our 
6ouls.  "  Not  that  we  are  sufficient,"  says  the  Apos- 


304  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

tie,  "  to  think  anything  of  ourselves,  as  of  ourselves ; 
but  our  sufficiency  is  from  God." 1  "  For  it  is  God 
who  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  accomplish"1 
anything  conducive  to  your  salvation.  "Without 
Me,"  says  our  Lord,  "  you  can  do  nothing.'"' 8  But 
in  order  that  divine  grace  may  effectually  aid  us, 
we  must  co-operate  with  it,  or  at  least  we  must  not 
resist  it. 

The  grace  of  God  is  obtained  chiefly  by  prayer 
and  the  Sacraments. 

A  Sacrament  is  a  visible  sign  instituted  by  Christ, 
by  which  grace  is  conveyed  to  our  souls.  Three 
things  are  necessary  to  constitute  a  Sacrament,  viz. : 
a  visible  sign,  invisible  grace,  and  the  institution  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Thus,  in  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  there  is  the 
outward  sign,  which  consists  in  the  pouring  of  water, 
and  in  the  formula  of  words  which  are  then  pro 
nounced  ;  the  interior  grace  or  sanctification  which 
is  imparted  to  the  soul:  "Be  baptized,  .  .  .  and 
you  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; "  *  and 
the  ordinance  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  said :  "  Teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  6 

Our  Saviour  instituted  seven  Sacraments,  namely, 
Baptism,  Confirmation,  Eucharist,  Penance,  Extreme 
Unction,  Orders,  and  Matrimony,  which  I  shall  ex 
plain  separately. 

1 II.  Cor.  iii.  5.  a  Phil.  ii.  13.  *  John  xv<  5. 

*  Acts  ii.  38.  6  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  305 

According  to  the  teachings  of  Holy  Writ,  man 
was  created  in  a  state  of  innocence  and  holiness,  and 
after  having  spent  on  this  earth  his  allotted  term  of 
years,  he  was  destined,  without  tasting  death,  to  he 
translated  to  the  perpetual  society  of  God  in  heaven,1 
But  in  consequence  of  his  disobedience,  he  fell  from 
his  high  estate  of  righteousness ;  his  soul  was  defiled 
by  sin ;  he  became  subject  to  death  and  to  various 
ills  of  body  and  soul,  and  forfeited  his  heavenly  in 
heritance. 

Adam's  transgression  was  not  confined  to  himself, 
but  was  transmitted,  with  its  long  train  of  dire  con 
sequences,  to  all  his  posterity.  And  it  is  called 
Original  sin  because  it  is  derived  from  our  original 
progenitor.  "  Wherefore,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  as  by 
one  man  sin  entered  into  this  world,  and  by  sin 
death,  and  so  death  passed  unto  all  men,  in  whom 
all  have  sinned."  *  And  elsewhere  he  tells  us  that 
"  we  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath."  * 

"Who,"  says  Job,  "can  make  him  clean  that  is 
conceived  of  unclean  seed,"  or,  as  the  Septuagint 
version  expresses  it:  "There  is  no  one  free  from 
stain,  not  even  though  his  life  be  of  one  day."  *  As 
an  infant  one  day  old  cannot  commit  an  actual  sin, 
the  stain  must  come  from  the  original  offence  of 
Adam.  "  Behold,"  says  David,  "  I  was  conceived 
in  iniquities,  and  in  sins  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."6  The  Scripture  also  tells  us  that  Jeremiah 

A  See  Wisdom  ii.  23.          2  Eom.  v.  12.         8  Eph.  ii.  3. 

4  Job  xiv.  4.  6  Ps.  1.  7. 

26*  U 


306  THE   FAITH  OI    OUR   FATHERS. 

and  Johu  the  Baptist  were  sanctified  before  their 
birth,  or  purified  from  sin,  and  of  course,  at  that 
period  of  their  existence,  they  were  incapable  of 
actual  sin.  They  were  cleansed,  therefore," from  the 
original  taint. 

These  passages  clearly  show  that  we  have  all  in 
herited  the  transgression  of  our  first  parents,  and 
that  we  are  born  enemies  of  God.  And  it  is  equally 
plain  that  these  texts  apply  to  every  member  of  the 
human  family,  to  the  infant  of  a  day  old  as  well  as 
to  the  adult. 

Indeed,  even  without  the  light  of  Holy  Scripture, 
we  have  only  to  look  into  ourselves  to  be  convinced 
that  our  nature  has  undergone  a  rude  shock.  How 
else  can  we  account  for  the  miseries  and  infirmities 
of  our  bodies,  the  blindness  of  our  understanding, 
the  perversity  of  our  will, — inclined  always  to  evil 
rather  than  to  good,  —  the  violence  of  our  passions, 
which  are  constantly  waging  war  in  our  hearts? 
How  well  does  the  Catholic  doctrine  explain  this 
abnormal  state.  Hence,  Paschal  truly  says  that 
man  is  a  greater  mystery  to  himself  without  Origi 
nal  sin,  than  is  the  mystery  itself. 

The  Church,  however,  declares  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary  was  exempted  from  the  stain  of  Origi 
nal  sin  by  the  merits  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  that,  consequently,  she  was  ne\er  for  an  instant 
subject  to  the  dominion  of  Satan.  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

.but  God,  in  passing  sentence  of  condemnation  on 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  307 

Adam,  consoled  him  by  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer 
to  come.  "  I  will  put  enmities,"  saith  the  Lord,  "be 
tween  thee  and  the  woman,  and  thy  seed  and  her 
seed ;  she  shall  crush  thy  head." l  Jesus,  the  seed 
of  Mary,  is  the  chosen  one  who  was  destined  to 
crush  tne  head  of  the  infernal  serpent.  And 
"when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent 
His  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  .  .  .  that  He  might 
redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  we 
might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." 2 

Jesus  Christ,  our  Redeemer,  came  to  wash  away 
the  defilement  from  our  souls,  and  to  restore  us  to 
that  divine  friendship  which  we  had  lost  by  the  sin 
of  Adam.  He  is  the  second  Adam,  who  came  to  re 
pair  the  iniquity  of  the  first.  It  was  our  Saviour's 
privilege  to  prescribe  the  conditions  on  which  our 
reconciliation  with  God  was  to  be  effected. 

Now  He  tells  us  in  His  Gospel  that  Baptism  is 
the  essential  means  established  for  washing  away 
the  stain  of  original  sin,  and  the  door  by  which 
we  find  admittance  into  His  Church,  vhich  may 
be  called  the  second  Eden.  We  must  all  submit 
to  a  new  birth,  or  regeneration,  before  we  can  en 
ter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Water  is  the  appro 
priate  instrument  of  this  new  birth,  as  it  indicates 
the  interior  cleansing  of  the  soul ;  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Giver  of  spiritual  life,  is  its  Author. 

The  Church  teaches  that  Baptism  is  necessary  for 

xGen.  iii.  15.  'Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 


308  THE  FAITH  OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

all,  for  infants  as  well  as  adults,  and  her  doctrine 
rests  on  the  following  grounds : 

Our  Lord  says  to  Nicodemus :  "  Amen,  amen,  I 
say  to  thee,  unless  a  man  be  born  again  of  water 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king 
dom  of  God." 1  These  words  embrace  the  whole 
human  family,  without  regard  to  age  or  sex,  as  is 
evident  from  the  original  Greek  text,  for  rtj,  which 
is  rendered  man  in  our  English  translation,  means 
any  one,  mankind  in  its  broadest  acceptation. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul,  although  containing  only  a  fragmentary 
account  of  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles,  plainly 
insinuate  that  the  Apostles  baptized  children  as 
well  as  grown  persons.  We  are  told,  for  instance, 
that  Lydia  "was  baptized,  and  her  household,"' 
by  St.  Paul ;  and  that  the  jailer  "  was  baptized, 
and  all  his  family."  *  The  same  Apostle  baptized 
also  "  the  household  of  Stephanas."  *  Although  it 
is  not  expressly  stated  that  there  were  children 
among  these  baptized  families,  the  presumption 
is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  supposition  that  there 
were.  But  if  any  doubt  exists  regarding  the 
Apostolic  practice  of  baptizing  infants,  it  is  easily 
removed  by  referring  to  the  writings  of  the  primitive 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  who,  as  they  were  the  im 
mediate  successors  of  the  Apostles,  ought  to  be  the 
best  interpreters  of  their  doctrines  and  practice. 

1  John  iii.  5.  a  Acts  xvi.  15. 

*  Ibid.  xvi.  33.  *  L  Cor.  i.  16. 


THE   SACKAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  309 

St.  Irenseus,  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a 
disciple  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  says :  "  Christ 
came  to  save  all  through  Himself;  all,  I  say,  who  are 
born  anew  (or  baptized)  through  Him  —  infants  and 
little  ones,  boys  and  youths,  and  aged  persons."  * 

Origen,  who  lived  a  few  years  later,  writes :  "  The 
Church  received  the  tradition  from  the  Apostles,  to 
give  baptism  even  to  infants." a 

The  early  church  of  Africa  bears  triumphant 
testimony  in  vindication  of  infant  baptism.  St. 
Cyprian  and  sixty-six  suffragan  Prelates  held  a 
council  in  the  metropolitan  city  of  Carthage,  in  the 
year  253.  While  the  Council  is  in  session,  a  Prelate 
named  Fidus  writes  to  the  Fathers,  asking  them 
whether  infants  ought  to  be  baptized  before  the 
eighth  day  succeeding  their  birth,  or  on  the  eighth 
day,  in  accordance  wmi  the  practice  of  circumcision. 
The  Bishops  unanimously  subscribe  to  the  follow 
ing  reply :  "  As  to  what  regards  the  baptism  of  in 
fants,  ...  we  all  judged  that  the  mercy  and  grace 
of  God  should  be  denied  to  no  human  being  from 
the  moment  of  his  birth.  If  even  to  the  greatest 
delinquents  the  remission  of  sins  is  granted,  how 
much  less  should  the  infant  be  repelled,  who,  being 
recently  born  according  to  Adam,  has  contracted  at 
his  first  birth  the  contagion  of  the  ancient  death. ''  * 
The  African  Council  asserts  here  two  prominent 
facts, —  the  universal  contagion  of  the  human  race 

1  Lib  II.  *dr.  Haer.  2  In  Ep.  ad  Kom, 

3  Epis.  ad  Fidum. 


310  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

through  Adam's  fall,  and  the  aniversal  necessity  of 
Baptism  without  distinction  of  age. 

Upon  this  decision,  I  will  make  two  observations : 
1.  Fidus  did  not  inquire  about  the  necessity  of  in 
fant  baptism,  which  he  already  admitted,  but  about 
the  propriety  of  conferring  it  on  the  eighth  day,  in 
imitation  of  the  Jewish  law  of  circumcision.  2.  The 
Bishops  assembled  in  that  Council  were  as  numer 
ous  as  the  whole  Episcopate  of  the  United  States, 
which  contains  about  five  thousand  Priests  and  up 
wards  of  six  millions  of  Catholics.  We  may  there 
fore  reasonably  conclude  that  the  judgment  of  the 
African  Council  represented  the  faith  of  several 
thousand  Priests,  and  several  millions  of  Catholics. 

St.  Augustine,  commenting  on  this  decision,  justly 
observes  that  St.  Cyprian  and  his  colleagues  made 
no  new  decree,  but  maintained  most  firmly  the  faith 
of  the  Church.  And  this  is  the  unanimous  senti 
ment  of  tradition  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles  to 
our  own  times. 

Is  it  not  ludicrous  as  well  as  impious  to  see  a  few 
German  fanatics,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  raising 
their  feeble  voice  against  the  thunder  tones  of  all 
Christendom,  by  decrying  a  practice  which  was 
universally  held  as  sacred  and  essential  ?  And  in 
judging  between  the  teachings  of  Apostolical  an 
tiquity,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  Anabaptists  on 
the  other,  it  is  not  hard  to  determine  on  which  side 
lies  the  truth  ;  for,  what  becomes  of  the  Christian 
Church,  if  it  has  erred  on  so  vital  a  point  as  that  of 
Baptism  during  the  entire  period  of  its  existence? 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  311 

Original  sin,  as  St.  Paul  has  told  us,  is  universal. 
Every  child  is,  therefore,  defiled  at  its  birth  with 
the  taint  of  Adam's  disobedience.  Now  the  Scrip 
ture  says  that  nothing  defiled  can  enter  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.1  Hence,  Baptism,  which  washes 
away  original  sin,  is  as  essential  for  the  infant  as 
for  the  full  grown  man,  in  order  to  attain  the  king 
dom  of  heaven. 

I  said  that  Regeneration  is  necessary  for  all.  But 
it  is  important  to  observe  that  if  a  man  is  heartily 
Borry  for  his  sins,  and  loves  God  with  his  whole 
heart,  and  desires  to  comply  with  all  the  divine 
ordinances,  including  Baptism,  but  has  no  oppor 
tunity  of  receiving  it,  or  is  not  sufficiently  instructed 
as  to  its  necessity,  God,  in  this  case,  accepts  the 
will  for  the  deed.  Should  this  man  die  in  these 
dispositions,  he  is  saved  by  the  baptism  of  desire. 
Or,  if  an  unbaptized  person  lays  down  his  life  for 
Christ,  his  death  is  accepted  as  more  than  an 
equivalent  for  Baptism;  for,  he  dies  not  only 
sanctified,  but  will  wear  a  martyr's  crown.  He  is 
baptized  in  his  own  blood. 

But  is  not  that  a  cruel  and  heartless  doctrine 
which  excludes  from  heaven  so  many  harmless 
babes  that  have  never  committed  any  actual  fault? 
To  this  I  reply:  Has  not  God  declared  that  Bap 
tism  is  necessary  for  all  ?  And  is  not  God  the  su 
preme  Wisdom  and  Justice  and  Mercy  ?  I  am  sure, 
then,  that  there  can  be  nothing  cruel  or  unjust  in 

1  Apoc.  xxi.  27. 


312  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

God's  decrees.  The  province  of  reason  consists  in 
ascertaining  that  God  has  spoken.  When  we  know 
that  He  has  spoken,  then  our  investigation  ceases, 
and  faith  and  obedience  begin.  Instead  of  im 
piously  criticising  the  divine  decree,  we  should  ex 
claim  with  the  Apostle :  "  O !  the  depth  of  the 
riches  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God !  how 
incomprehensible  are  His  judgments,  and  how  un 
searchable  His  ways !  For,  who  hath  known  the 
mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath  been  His  counsel 
lor?"1 

Let  us  remember  that  heaven  is  a  place  to  which 
none  of  us  has  any  inherent  right  or  natural  claim, 
but  that  it  is  promised  to  us  by  tne  pure  favor  of 
God.  He  can  reject  and  adopt  whom  He  pleases, 
and  can,  without  injustice,  prescribe  His  own  con 
ditions  for  accepting  His  proffered  boon.  If  your 
child  is  deprived  of  heaven  by  being  deprived  of 
Baptism,  God  does  it  no  wrong,  because  He  infringes 
no  right  to  which  your  child  had  any  inalienable 
title.  If  your  child  obtains  the  grace  of  Baptism, 
be  thankful  for  the  gift. 

It  is  proper  here  to  state  briefly  what  the  Church 
actually  teaches  regarding  the  future  state  of  un- 
baptized  infants.  Though  the  Church,  in  obedience 
to  God's  Word,  declares  that  uiibaptized  infants  are 
excluded  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  it  should  not 
hence  be  concluded  that  they  are  consigned  to  the 
place  of  the  reprobate.  None  are  condemned  to  the 

1  Eom.  xi.  33,  34 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  31 S 

torments  of  the  damned,  but  such  as  merit  diviiie 
vengeance  by  their  personal  sins. 

All  that  the  Church  holds  on  this  point,  is  that 
unregenerate  children  are  deprived  of  the  beatific 
vision,  or  the  possession  of  God,  which  constitutes 
the  essential  happiness  of  the  blessed. 

Now,  between  the  supreme  bliss  of  heaven  and 
the  torments  of  the  reprobate,  there  is  a  very  wide 
margin. 

All  admit  that  the  condition  of  unbaptized  infants 
is  better  than  non-existence.  There  are  some  Cath 
olic  writers  of  distinction  who  even  assert  that  un 
baptized  infants  enjoy  a  certain  degree  of  natural 
beatitude,  that  is,  a  happiness  which  is  based  on  the 
natural  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 

From  what  has  been  said,  you  may  well  judge 
how  reprehensible  is  the  conduct  of  Catholic  parents 
who  neglect  to  have  their  children  baptized  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment,  thereby  risking  their  own 
souls,  as  well  as  the  souls  of  their  innocent  offspring. 
How  different  was  the  practice  of  the  early  Chris 
tians,  who,  as  St.  Augustine  testifies,  hastened  with 
their  new-born  babes  to  the  baptismal  font,  that  they 
might  not  be  deprived  of  the  grace  of  regeneration. 

If  an  infant  is  sick,  no  expense  is  spared  that  its 
life  may  be  preserved.  The  physician  is  called  in  ; 
medicine  is  given  to  it ;  and  the  mother  will  spend 
sleepless  nights  watching  every  movement  of  the 
infant ;  she  will  sacrifice  her  repose,  her  health ; 
nay,  she  will  expose  even  her  own  life,  that  the  life 
27 


314  THE  FAITH  OP  OUR  FATHER?. 

of  her  offspring  may  be  saved.  And  yet  the  super 
natural  happiness  of  the  child  is  too  often  imperiled 
without  remorse  by  the  criminal  postponement  of 
Baptism. 

But,  if  they  are  to  be  censured  who  are  slow  in 
having  their  children  baptized,  what  are  we  to  think 
of  that  large  body  of  professing  Christians  who,  on 
principle,  deny  Baptism  to  little  ones  till  they  come 
to  the  age  of  discretion  ?  What  are  we  to  think  of 
those  who  set  their  private  opinions  above  Scripture, 
the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church,  and  the  universal 
practice  of  Christendom  ? 

We  may  smile  indeed  at  a  theological  opinion,  no 
matter  how  novel  or  erroneous  it  may  be,  so  long  as 
it  does  not  involve  any  dangerous  consequences. 
But  when  it  is  given  in  a  case  of  life  and  death, 
how  terrible  is  the  responsibility  of  those  who  propa 
gate  such  erroneous  doctrines. 

The  opposite  practice  of  the  Catholic  and  the 
Baptist  churches,  in  their  treatment  of  the  new-born 
infant,  may  be  well  compared  to  the  conduct  of  the 
true  and  false  mother  who  both  claimed  the  child 
at  the  tribunal  of  Solomon.  The  king  exclaimed : 
"Divide  the  living  child  in  two,  and  give  half  to 
the  one  and  half  to  the  other."  The  pretended 
mother  consented,  saying :  Let  it  be  neither  mine  nor 
thine,  but  divide  it.  "  But  the  woman  whose  child 
was  alive,  said  to  the  king  (for  her  bowels  were 
moved  upon  her  child) :  I  beseech  thee,  my  lord, 
give  her  the  child  alive,  and  do  not  kill  it.'  While 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  BAPTISM.  315 

the  Baptist  church  is  willing  that  the  child  should 
die  a  spiritual  death,  the  true  mother,  the  Catholio 
Church,  cries  out:  Keep  the  child,  provided  its 
spiritual  life  is  saved,  even  at  your  hands.  Let  it 
be  clothed  with  the  robe  of  innocence  even  by  a 
stranger.  Let  it  be  nursed  at  the  breasts  even  of  a 
step-mother.  Better  it  should  live  without  me  than 
perish  before  my  face.  I  will  still  be  its  mother, 
though  it  know  me  not. 

Ah !  my  Baptist  friend,  you  think  that  Baptism  is 
not  necessary  for  your  child's  salvation.  The  old 
Church  teaches  the  contrary.  You  admit  that  you 
may  be  wrong,  and  it  is  a  question  of  life  and 
death.  Take  the  safe  side.  Give  your  child  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt.  Let  it  be  baptized. 

Baptism  washes  away  original  sin,  and  also  actual 
sins  from  the  adult  who  may  have  contracted  them. 
The  cleansing  efficacy  of  Baptism  was  clearly  fore 
shadowed  by  the  prophet  Ezechiel  in  these  words : 
"  I  will  pour  upon  you  clean  water,  and  you  shall  be 
cleansed  from  all  your  filthiness."  ] 

When  the  Jews  asked  St.  Peter  what  they  should 
do  to  be  saved,  the  Apostle  replied :  "  Repent,  and 
let  every  one  of  you  be  baptized  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  your  sins."  2 

And  Ananias  said  to  Saul,  after  his  conversion : 
•'  Kise  up  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins."1 

"We  were  by  nature,"  says  St.  Paul,  "children 
of  wrath,"  but  by  our  regeneration,  or  new  birth  in 

1  Ezech.  xxxvi  25.        a  Acts  ii.  38.        8  Ibid.  xxiL  16. 


316  THE  FAITH   OF   OUK   FATHERS. 

Baptism,  we  become  Christians  and  children  of  God. 
"  For,  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus.  For,  as  many  of  you  as  have  been 
baptized  in  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."  *  We 
are  adopted  into  the  same  family  with  Jesus  Christ. 
What  He  is  by  nature,  we  are  by  grace,  children  of 
God,  and  consequently  brethren  of  Christ.  Nay, 
our  union  with  Jesus  is  still  more  close.  We  be 
come  true  members  of  His  mystical  body,  which  is 
His  Church,  and  His  divine  image  is  stamped  upon 
our  soul. 

Baptism  also  clothes  us  with  the  garment  of  sanctity, 
so  that  our  soul  becomes  a  fit  dwelling-place  for  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  Apostle,  after  giving  a  fearful 
catalogue  of  the  vices  of  the  Pagans,  says  to  the 
Corinthians :  "  And  such  some  of  you  were ;  but  ye 
are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified 
in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the 
Spirit  of  our  God."  2 

Baptism,  in  fine,  makes  us  heirs  of  heaven,  and  co 
heirs  with  Jesus  Christ.  "  We  ourselves  also,"  says 
St.  Paul, "  were  sometime  unwise,  incredulous,  erring, 
slaves  to  divers  desires  and  pleasures,  living  in  malice 
and  envy,  hateful,  and  hating  one  another.  But  when 
the  goodness  and  kindness  of  God  our  Saviour  ap 
peared,  ....  He  saved  us  by  the  laver  of  regener 
ation  and  renovation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  He 
hath  poured  forth  abundantly  upon  us,  through 

-  Gal.  iii.  26,  27.  *  I.  Cor.  vi.  11. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  317 

Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  that  being  justified  by  His 
grace,  we  may  be  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of 
life  everlasting." * 

Here  we  plainly  see  that  the  forgiveness  of  sin, 
the  adoption  into  the  family  of  God,  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  soul,  and  the  pledge  of  eternal  life,  are 
ascribed  to  the  due  reception  of  Baptism  ;  —  not,  in 
deed,  that  water  or  the  words  of  the  minister  have 
any  intrinsic  virtue  to  heal  the  soul,  but  because 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  word  is  creative  power,  is  pleased 
to  attach  to  this  rite  its  wonderful  efficacy  of  heal 
ing  the  soul,  as  He  imparted  to  the  pool  of  Bethsaida 
the  power  of  healing  the  body.2 

From  what  has  been  said,  I  ask  you  candidly 
what  are  you  to  think  of  the  decision  rendered  in 
1872  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  who,  in  their  convention  in  Baltimore,  de 
clared  that  by  the  word  Regeneration  we  are  not  to 
understand  a  moral  change.  If  no  moral  change  is 
effected  by  Baptism,  then  there  is  no  change  at  all  • 
for,  certainly  Baptism  produces  no  physical  change 
in  the  soul. 

Is  it  no  change  to  pass  from  sin  to  virtue,  from 
a  "  child  of  wrath  "  to  be  a  "  child  of  God  ;  "  from 
corruption  to  sanctification ;  from  the  condition  of 
heirs  of  death  to  the  inheritance  of  heaven  ?  If  all 
this  implies  no  moral  change,  then  these  words  have 
lost  their  meaning. 

Modes  of  baptizing.     The  Baptists  err  in  asserting 

1  Tit.  iii.  3-7.  a  John  v. 

27* 


318  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

that  Baptism  by  immersion  is  the  only  valid  mode. 
'  Baptism  may  be  validly  administered  in  either  of 
three  ways,  viz. :  by  immersion,  or  by  plunging  the 
candidate  into  the  water;  by  infusion,  or  by  pouring 
the  water ;  and  by  aspersion,  or  sprinkling. 

As  our  Lord  nowhere  prescribes  any  special  form 
of  administering  the  Sacrament,  the  Church  exer 
cises  her  discretion  in  adopting  the  most  convenient 
mode,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  time  and 
place. 

For  several  centuries  after  the  establishment  of 
Christianity,  Baptism  was  usually  conferred  by  im 
mersion  ;  but  since  the  twelfth  century,  the  practice 
of  baptizing  by  infusion  has  prevailed  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  as  this  manner  is  attended  with  less  incon 
venience  than  Baptism  by  immersion. 

To  prove  that  Baptism  by  infusion  or  by  sprink 
ling  is  as  legitimate  as  by  immersion,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  observe  that,  though  immersion  was  the 
more  common  practice  in  the  Primitive  Church,  the 
Sacrament  was  frequently  administered  even  then 
by  infusion  and  aspersion. 

After  St.  Peter's  first  discourse,  three  thousand  per 
sons  were  baptized.1  It  is  not  likely  that  so  many 
could  have  been  immersed  in  one  day,  especially 
when  we  consider  the  time  occupied  in  instructing 
the  candidates. 

On  reading  the  account  of  the  Baptism  of  St. 
Paul  and  the  jailer,  the  context  leaves  a  strong  im- 

1  Acts  ii.  41. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   BAPTISM.  319 

pression  on  the  mind  that  both  received  the  Sacra 
ment  by  aspersion  or  by  infusion. 

Early  ecclesiastical  history  records  a  great  many 
instances  in  which  Baptism  was  administered  to  sick 
persons  in  their  beds,  to  prisoners  in  their  cells,  and 
to  persons  on  shipboard.  And  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  never  called  in  question  the  validity  or  the 
legitimacy  of  such  Baptisms.  Now,  it  is  almost  im 
possible  to  believe  that  candidates  in  such  situations 
could  receive  the  rite  by  immersion. 

We  have  seen,  moreover,  that  Baptism  has  always 
been  declared  necessary  for  salvation.  It  is  reason 
able,  hence,  to  believe  that  our  Lord  would  have 
afforded  the  greatest  facility  for  the  reception  of  so 
essential  a  Sacrament. 

But  if  Baptism  by  immersion  only  is  valid,  how 
many  sick  and  delicate  persons,  how  many  prisoners 
and  seafaring  people,  how  many  thousands  living  in 
the  Frigid  Zone,  or  even  in  the  Temperate  Zone, 
in  the  depth  of  an  inclement  winter,  though  all 
craving  the  grace  of  regeneration,  would  be  deprived 
of  God's  seal,  or  wo*uld  receive  it  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives !  Surely  God  does  not  ordinarily  impose  His 
ordinances  upon  us  under  such  a  penalty. 

Moreover,  if  immersion  is  the  only  valid  form  of 
Baptism,  what  has  become  of  the  millions  of  souls 
who,  in  every  age  and  country,  have  been  regener 
ated  by  the  infusion  or  the  aspersion  of  water  in 
the  Christian  Church  ? 


320  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

CHAPTEK  XX. 

THE  SACRAMENT   OF   CONFIRMATION. 

p CONFIRMATION  is  a  Sacrament  in  which, 
\J  through  the  imposition  of  the  Bishop's  hands, 
unction,  and  prayer,  baptized  persons  receive  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  they  may  steadfastly  profess  their 
faith  and  lead  upright  lives. 

This  Sacrament  is  called  Confirmation,  because  it 
confirms  or  strengthens  the  soul  by  divine  grace. 
Sometimes  it  is  named  the  laying  on  of  hands,  because 
the  Bishop  imposes  his  hands  on  those  whom  he  con 
firms.  It  is  also  known  by  the  name  of  Chrism,  be 
cause  the  forehead  of  the  person  confirmed  is  anointed 
with  chrism  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 

Frequent  mention  is  made  of  this  Sacrament  in 
the  Holy  Scripture.  In  the  Acts,  it  is  written  that 
"When  the  Apostles  who  were  in  Jerusalem  had 
heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  word  of  God, 
they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John,  who,  when 
they  were  come,  prayed  for  them  that  they  might 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  He  was  not  yet  come 
upon  any  of  them,  but  they  were  only  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then  they  laid  their 
hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost/' * 

It  is  also  related  that  the  disciples  at  Ephesus 
"  were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  and 
when  Paul  had  imposed  his  hands  upon  them,  the 

1  Acts  viii.  14-17. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  CONFIRMATION.  32] 

Holy  Ghost  came  upon  vliem,  and  they  spoke  tongues 
and  prophesied." l 

In  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  St.  Paul  enumerates 
Confirmation,  or  the  laying  on  of  hands,  together 
with  Baptism  and  Penance,  among  the  fundamental 
truths  of  Christianity.2 

And  to  the  Corinthians  he  writes :  "  He  that  con- 
firmeth  us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  that  hath  anointed 
us,  is  God ;  who  also  hath  sealed  us,  and  given  the 
pledge  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts." 3  God  confirmeth 
us  in  faith  ;  He  hath  anointed  us  by  spiritual  unction, 
typified  by  the  sacred  chrism  which  is  marked  on 
our  foreheads.  He  hath  sealed  us  by  the  indelible 
character  stamped  on  our  souls,  which  is  indicated 
by  the  sign  of  the  cross  impressed  on  us.  He  hath 
given  the  pledge  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  hearts,  by 
the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  as  an  earnest  of 
future  glory.  The  Bishop  performs  the  external 
unction,  but  God,  "  who  worketh  all  in  all,"  sanc 
tifies  the  soul  by  His  secret  operation. 

It  cannot  be  asserted  that  the  laying  on  of  hands, 
and  the  graces  which  followed  from  it,  as  recorded 
in  the  Acts,  were  not  intended  to  be  continued  after 
the  Apostles'  times ;  for  there  is  no  warrant  for  such 
an  assumption.  This  function  of  imposing  hands 
formed  as  regular  and  imperative  a  part  of  the 
Apostolic  ministry  as  the  duties  which  they  exer 
cised  in  preaching,  baptizing,  ordaining,  etc.  And 
hence  the  successors  of  the  Apostles  in  the  nineteenth 

1  Acts  xix.  5,  6.          2  Heb.  vi.  1,  2.         » II.  Cor.  i.  21. 
V 


322  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

century  have  precisely  the  same  authority  and  obli 
gation  to  confirm  as  they  have  to  preach,  to  baptize, 
or  to  ordain. 

Those  who  were  confirmed  by  the  Apostles  usually 
gave  evidence  of  the  grace  which  they  received  by 
prophecy,  the  gift  of  tongues,  and  the  manifestation 
of  other  miraculous  powers.  It  may  be  asked :  Why 
do  not  these  gifts  accompany  now  the  imposition 
of  hands  ?  I  answer :  Because  they  are  no  longer 
needed.  The  grace  which  the  Apostolic  disciples 
received  was  for  their  personal  sanctification.  The 
gift  of  tongues  which  they  exercised  was  intended 
by  Almighty  God  to  edify  and  enlighten  the  spec- 
tatois,  and  to  give  divine  sanction  to  the  Apos 
tolic  ministry.  But  now  that  the  Church  is  firmly 
established,  and  the  divine  authority  of  her  min 
istry  is  clearly  recognized,  these  miracles  are  no 
longer  necessary.  St.  Gregory  illustrates  this  point 
by  a  happy  comparison:  As  the  sapling,  he  says, 
when  it  is  first  planted,  is  regularly  watered  by  the 
gardener,  who  softens  the  earth  around  it,  that  the 
sun  and  the  moisture  may  nourish  its  roots  until  it 
takes  deep  root,  when  it  no  longer  requires  any 
special  care ;  so  the  Church  in  her  infancy  had  to  be 
nourished  by  the  miraculous  power  of  God.  But 
after  it  had  taken  root  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  spread  its  branches  over  the  earth,  it  was  left  to 
the  ordinary  agencies  of  Providence. 

St.  Augustine  writes  also  on  the  same  subject: 
"  In  the  first  days  (of  the  Church),  the  Holy  Ghost 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF   CONFIRMATION.  323 

eaine  down  on  believers,  and  they  spoke  in  tongues 

which  they  had  not  learned These  were 

miracles  suited  to  the  times Is  it  now  ex 
pected  that  they  upon  whom  hands  are  laid,  should 
speak  with  tongues  ?  Or,  when  we  imposed  hands 
on  these  children,  did  each  of  you  wait  to  see  whether 
they  would  speak  with  tongues  ?  ....  If,  then,  there 
be  not  now  a  testimony  to  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  means  of  these  miracles,  whence  is  it  proved 
that  he  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit?  Let  him  ask 
his  own  heart ;  if  he  loves  his  brother,  the  Spirit  of 
God  abides  in  him." l 

Following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostles,  we  find 
the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  from  the  earliest  age, 
recognizing  Confirmation  as  a  divine  and  sacra 
mental  institution,  and  proclaiming  its  salutary 
effects. 

"  The  flesh,"  says  Tertullian,  "  is  anointed,  that 
the  soul  may  be  consecrated ;  the  flesh  is  marked, 
that  the  soul  may  be  fortified ;  the  flesh  is  over 
shadowed  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  that  the  soul 
may  be  enlightened  with  the  Spirit." 2 

St.  Cyprian,  speaking  of  the  Christians  baptized 
in  Samaria,  says :  "  Because  they  had  received  the 
legitimate  baptism,  .  .  .  what  was  wanting,  that 
was  done  by  Peter  and  John,  that  prayer  being 
made  for  them,  and  hands  imposed,  the  Holy  Ghost 
should  be  invoked  and  poured  forth  upon  them. 
Which  now  also  is  done  amongst  us,  so  that  they  who 

1  Tract  VI   in  Ep.  Joan.  J  De  Eesun  car. 


324  THE   FAITH    OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

are  baptized  in  the  Church,  are  presented  to  the 
Bishops  of  the  Church,  and  by  our  prayer  and  im 
position  of  hands,  they  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
are  perfected  with  the  seal  of  the  Lord." l 

St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  compares  the  sacred 
Chrism  in  Confirmation  to  the  Eucharist:  "You 
were  anointed  with  oil,  being  made  sharers  and 
partners  of  Christ.  And  see  well  that  you  regard 
it  not  as  mere  ointment ;  for,  as  the  bread  of  the 
Eucharist,  after  the  invocation  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
is  no  longer  mere  bread,  but  the  body  of  Christ;  so 
likewise  this  holy  ointment  is  no  longer  common 
ointment  after  the  invocation,  but  the  gift  of  Christ 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  being  rendered  efficient  by 
His  divinity.  You  were  anointed  on  the  forehead, 
that  you  might  be  delivered  from  the  shame  which 
the  first  transgressor  always  experienced,  and  that  you 
might  contemplate  the  glory  of  God  with  an  unveiled 
countenance.  .  .  .  As  Christ,  after  His  baptism,  and 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  Him,  going  forth, 
overcame  the  adversary,  so  you  likewise,  after  holy 
baptism  and  the  mysterious  unction,  clothed  with  the 
panoply  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  stand  against  the  adverse 
power,  and  subdue  it,  saying:  'I  can  do  all  things 
in  Christ  who  strengthened  me.' "  * 

St.  Ambrose,  commenting  on  these  words  of  the 
Apostle :  "  God  .  .  .  hath  given  us  the  pledge 
of  the  Spirit,"  (II.  Cor.  i.  22,)  expressly  applies  the 
text  to  the  seal  of  Confirmation :  "  Remember,"  he 

1  Epibt.  Ixrih.  a  Cat.  xxi.  Mys.  iii.  De  S.  Chrism. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   CONFIRMATION".  325 

says,  "  that  you  have  received  the  spiritual  seal,  the 
spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  coun 
sel  and  fortitude,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  piety, 
the  spirit  of  holy  fear.  God  the, Father  hath  sealed 
you ;  Christ  the  Lord  hath  confirmed  you,  and  hath 
given  the  pledge  of  the  Spirit  in  your  hearts,  as  you 
have  learned  from  the  lesson  read  from  the  Apostle.'' ' 

St.  Ambrose  here  speaks  of  the  seven-fold  gifts 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  are  received  in  Confirma 
tion,  and  every  Bishop  in  our  day  invokes  these 
same  gifts  on  those  whom  he  is  about  to  confirm. 

"  Do  you  know,"  writes  St.  Jerome  against  the 
sect  of  Luciferians  of  his  time,  "  that  it  is  the  prac 
tice  of  the  churches  that  the  imposition  of  hands 
should  be  performed  over  baptized  persons,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  thus  invoked  ?  Do  you  ask  where  it  is 
written?  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles;  but  were 
there  no  scriptural  authority  at  hand,  the  consent 
of  the  whole  world  in  this  regard  would  have  the 
force  of  law."  * 

"  You  willingly  understand,"  says  St.  Augustine, 
"  by  this  ointment  the  Sacrament  of  Chrism,  which 
indeed,  in  the  class  of  visible  seals,  is  as  sacred  as 
Baptism  itself."3 

The  Oriental  schismatic  churches  recognize  Con 
firmation  as  a  Sacrament,  and  administer  the  rite  as 
we  do,  by  the  imposition  of  hands  and  the  applica 
tion  of  chrism.  Now,  some  of  these  churches  have 

1  De  Myst.  cvii.  n.  42.  a  Dial.  adv.  Lucifer. 

3  L.  II.,  contra  lit.  Petil. 
28 


326  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

been  separated  from  the  Catholic  Church  since  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries.  This  fact  is  an  eloquent 
vindication  of  the  Apostolic  antiquity  of  Confirma 
tion,  and  is  an  ample  refutation  of  those  who  would 
ascribe  to  it  a  more  recent  origin. 

Protestantism,  which  made  such  havoc  of  the  other 
Sacraments,  did  not  fail  to  abolish  Confirmation  in 
its  sweeping  revolution. 

The  Episcopal  church  retains,  indeed,  the  name 
of  Confirmation  in  its  ritual,  and  even  borrows  a 
portion  of  our  prayers  and  ceremonial.  But,  in 
opposition  to  the  uniform  teaching  of  the  Cath 
olic,  as  well  as  of  all  the  Oriental  churches,  both 
orthodox  and  schismatic,  it  declares  Confirmation 
to  be  a  mere  rite,  and  not  a  sacrament. 

In  violation  of  the  practice  of  all  antiquity,  it  mu 
tilates  the  rite  by  omitting  the  sacred  unction.  It 
retains  the  shadow  without  the  substance. 

It  raises,  indeed,  its  hands  over  the  candidates; 
but  they  are  not  the  anointed  hands  of  Peter  or 
John,  or  Cyprian  or  Augustine,  to  whom  it  is  said: 
"Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bless,  let  it  be  blessed; 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  sanctify,  let  it  be  sancti 
fied."  l  Their  hands  were  lifted  up  with  authority, 
and  clothed  with  supernatural  power  ;  but  the 
hands  of  the  Episcopal  bishops  are  spiritually  par 
alyzed  by  the  suicidal  act  of  the  Reformers,  and 
they  expressly  disclaim  any  sacramental  efficacy  in 
the  ,rite  which  they  administer. 

1  Roman  Pontifical. 


THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST.  327 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST. 

AMONG  the  various  dogmas  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  there  is  none  which  rests  on  stronger 
Scriptural  authority  than  the  doctrine  of  the  Real 
Presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
So  copious,  indeed,  and  so  clear  are  the  passages 
of  the  New  Testament  which  treat  of  this  subject, 
that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  determine  which  to  select, 
and  find  it  difficult  to  compress  them  all  within 
the  compass  of  this  short  chapter. 

The  Evangelists  do  not  always  dwell  upon  the 
same  mysteries  of  religion.  Their  practice  is  rather  to 
supplement  each  other,  so  that  one  of  them  will  men 
tion  what  the  others  have  omitted,  or  have  touched 
in  a  cursory  way.  But  in  regard  to  the  Blessed 
Eucharist,  the  sacred  writers  exhibit  a  marked  de 
viation  from  this  rule.  We  find  that  the  four 
Evangelists,  together  with  St.  Paul,  have  written 
so  explicitly  and  abundantly  on  this  subject,  that 
one  of  them  alone  would  be  amply  sufficient  to 
prove  the  dogma,  without  taking  them  collectively. 

These  five  inspired  writers  gave  the  weight  of 
their  individual  testimony  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Eucharist,  because  they  foresaw  —  or  rather  the 
Holy  Ghost,  speaking  through  them,  foresaw  — 
that  this  great  mystery,  which  exacts  so  strong 


328  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

an  exercise  of  OUT  faith,  and  which  bids  us  bow  down 
our  "  understanding  unto  the  obedience  of  Christ,"1 
would  meet  with  opposition  in  the  course  of  time 
from  those  who  would  measure  the  infallible  Word 
of  God  by  the  erring  standard  of  their  own  judgment. 

I  shall  select  three  classes  of  arguments  from  the 
New  Testament  which  satisfactorily  demonstrate  the 
Real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
The  first  of  these  texts  speaks  of  the  promise  of  the 
Eucharist;  the  second  of  its  institution;  and  the 
third  of  its  use  among  the  faithful. 

To  begin  with  the  words  of  the  promise.  While 
Jesus  was  once  preaching  near  the  coast  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  He  was  followed,  as  usual,  by  an  im 
mense  multitude  of  persons,  who  were  attracted  to 
Him  by  the  miracles  which  He  wrought,  and  the 
words  of  salvation  which  He  spoke.  Seeing  that 
the  people  had  no  food,  He  multiplied  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes  to  such  an  extent  as  to  supply  the 
wants  of  five  thousand  men,  besides  women  and 
children. 

Our  Lord  considered  the  present  a  favorable 
occasion  for  speaking  of  the  Sacrament  of  His  body 
and  blood,  which  was  to  be  distributed,  not  to  a  few 
thousands,  but  to  millions  of  souls  ;  not  in  one  place, 
but  everywhere ;  not  at  one  time,  but  all  days,  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  "I  am,"  He  says  to  His 
hearers,  "  the  bread  of  life.  Your  fathers  did  eat 
inamia  in  the  desert,  and  died I  am  the 

1  IT.  Cor.  i.  5. 


THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST.  329 

living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven.  If 
any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever: 
and  the  bread  which  I  will  give,  is  My  flesh  for  the 
life  of  the  world.  The  Jews,  therefore,  disputed 
among  themselves,  saying :  How  can  this  man  give 
us  His  flesh  to  eat  ?  Then  Jesus  said  to  them :  Amen, 
amen,  I  say  to  you :  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  shall  not  have 
life  in  you.  He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh 
My  blood,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  I  will  raise  him 
up  on  the  last  day.  For  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed, 
and  My  blood  is  drink  indeed." l 

If  you  had  been  among  the  number  of  our 
Saviour's  hearers  on  that  occasion,  would  you  not 
have  been  irresistibly  led,  by  the  noble  simplicity  of 
His  words,  to  understand  Him  as  speaking  truly  of 
His  body  and  blood?  For  His  language  is  not  sus 
ceptible  of  any  other  interpretation. 

When  our  Saviour  says  to  the  Jews:  "Your 
fathers  did  eat  manna,  and  died,  ....  but  he  that 
eateth  this  (Eucharistic)  bread  shall  live  for  ever," 
He  evidently  wishes  to  affirm  the  superiority  of  the 
food  which  He  would  give,  over  the  manna  by  which 
the  children  of  Israel  were  nourished. 

Now,  if  the  Eucharist  were  merely  commemorative 
bread  and  wine,  instead  of  being  superior,  it  would 
be  really  inferior  to  the  manna ;  for  the  manna  was 
supernatural,  heavenly,  miraculous  food,  while  bread 
and  wine  are  a  natural,  earthly  food, 

1  John  vi.  48-56. 
28* 


330  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS 

But  the  best  and  the  most  reliable  interpreters  of 
our  Saviour's  words  are  certainly  the  multitude,  and 
the  disciples  who  were  listening  to  Him.     They  all 
understood  the  import  of  His  language  precisely  as 
it  is  explained  by  the  Catholic  Church.     They  be 
lieved  that  our  Lord  spoke  literally  of  His  body  and 
blood.     The  Evangelist  tells  us  that  the  Jews  "  dis 
puted  among  themselves,  saying :  How  can  this  man 
give  us  His  flesh  to  eat  ? "     And  even  His  disciples, 
though  avoiding  the  disrespectful  language  of  the 
multitude,  gave   expression  to  their   doubt  in  this 
milder  form  :   "  This  saying  is  hard,  and  who  caii 
hear   it?"1     So    much  were   they  shocked   at   our 
Saviour's  promise,  that   "  after   this    many  of  His 
disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  Him."' 
They  evidently  implied,  by  their  words  and  conduct, 
that  they  understood  Jesus  to  have  spoken  literally 
of  His  flesh ;  for,  had  they  interpreted  His  words  in 
a  figurative  sense,  it  would  not  have  been  a  hard 
saying,  nor  have  led  them  to  abandon  their  Master. 
But,  perhaps,  I  shall  be  told  that  the  disciples  and 
the  Jews  who  heard  our  Saviour,  may  have  misin 
terpreted  His  meaning,  by  taking  His  words  in  the 
literal  acceptation,  while  He  may  have  spoken  in  a 
figurative  sense.     This  objection  is  easily  disposed 
of.     It  sometimes  happened,  indeed,  that  our  Saviour 
was  misunderstood  by  His  hearers.     On  such  occa 
sions,  He   always   took  care  to  remove  from  theii 
mind  the  wrong    impression   they  had  formed,  by 

»  John  vi.  61.  » Ibid.  vi.  67. 


THE   HOLY   EUCHARIST.  331 

stating  His  meaning  in  simpler  language.  Thus, 
for  instance,  having  told  Nicodemus  that  unless  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  having  observed  that  His  meaning 
was  not  correctly  apprehended  by  this  disciple,  our 
Saviour  added:  "Unless  a  man  be  born  again  of 
water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  the  king 
dom  of  heaven." l  And  again,  when  He  warned 
His  disciples  against  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees, 
and  finding  that  they  had  taken  an  erroneous  mean 
ing  from  His  word,  He  immediately  subjoined  that 
they  should  beware  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Phari- 

Q 


But  in  the  present  instance,  does  our  Saviour  alter 
His  language  when  He  finds  His  words  taken  in  the 
literal  sense?  Does  He  tell  His  hearers  that  He 
has  spoken  figuratively  ?  Does  He  soften  the  tone 
of  His  expressions  ?  Far  from  weakening  the  force 
of  His  words,  He  repeats  what  He  said  before,  and 
in  language  more  emphatic :  "  Amen,  amen,  I  say 
unto  you,  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man, 
and  drink  His  blood,  ye  shall  not  have  life  in  you." 

When  our  Saviour  beheld  the  Jews  and  many  of 
His  disciples  abandoning  Him,  turning  to  the  chosen 
twelve,  He  said  feelingly  to  them :  "  Will  ye  also  go 
away  ?  And  Simon  Peter  answered  Him  :  Lord,  to 
whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life."3  You,  my  dear  reader,  must  also  take  your 
choice.  Will  you  reply  with  the  Jews,  or  with  the 

1  John  iii.  2  Matt.  xvi.  "  John  vi.  68,  69. 


332  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

disciples  of  little  faith,  or  with  Peter?  Ah  !  let  some 
say  with  the  unbelieving  Jews :  "  How  can  this 
man  give  us  His  flesh  to  eat?  "  Let  others  say  with 
the  unfaithful  disciples :  "  This  is  a  hard  saying. 
Who  can  hear  it  ?  "  But  do  you  say  with  Peter : 
"  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life." 

So  far,  I  have  dwelt  on  the  words  of  the  Promise. 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  words  of  the  Institution, 
which  are  given  in  almost  the  same  expressions  by 
St.  Matthew,  St.  Mark,  and  St.  Luke.  In  the  Gos 
pel  according  to  St.  Matthew,  we  read  the  following 
narrative :  "  And  while  they  were  at  supper,  Jesus 
took  bread,  and  blessed  and  broke,  and  gave  to  His 
disciples,  and  said :  Take  ye  and  eat.  This  is  My 
body.  And  taking  the  chalice,  He  gave  thanks, 
and  gave  to  them,  saying:  Drink  ye  all  of  this; 
for  this  is  My  blood  of  the  New  Testament,  which 
shall  be  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins." 1 

I  beg  you  to  recall  to  mind  the  former  text  rela 
tive  to  the  Promise,  and  to  compare  it  with  this. 
How  admirably  they  fit  together,  like  two  links  in 
a  chain!  How  faithfully  has  Jesus  fulfilled  the 
Promise  which  He  made !  Could  any  idea  be  ex 
pressed  in  clearer  terms  than  these :  This  is  My 
«  body  ;  this  is  My  blood  ? 

And  why  is  the  Catholic  interpretation  of  these 
words  rejected  by  Protestants?  Is  it  because  the 


1  Matt.  xxvi.  26-28. 


THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST.  333 

text  is  in  itself  obscure  and  ambiguous?  By  110 
means;  but  simply  because  they  do  not  compre 
hend  how  God  could  perform  so  stupendous  a  mir 
acle  as  to  give  His  body  and  blood  for  our  spiritual 
nourishment. 

Is,  then,  the  power  or  the  mercy  of  God  to  be 
measured  by  the  narrow  rule  of  the  human  under 
standing?  Is  the  Almighty  not  permitted  to  do 
anything  except  what  we  can  sanction  by  our  rea- 
Bon  ?  Is  a  thing  to  be  declared  impossible,  because 
we  cannot  see  its  possibility  ? 

Has  not  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
out  of  nothing,  by  the  fiat  of  His  word?  What  a 
mystery  is  this !  Does  He  not  hold  this  world  in 
the  midst  of  space?  Does  He  not  transform  the 
tiny  blade  into  nutritious  grain  ?  Did  He  not  feed 
upwards  of  five  thousand  persons  with  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes?  What  a  mystery!  Did  He  not 
rain  down  manna  from  heaven  for  forty  years, 
to  feed  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  desert?  Did 
He  not  change  rivers  into  blood  in  Egypt,  and  water 
into  wine  at  the  wedding  of  Cana  ?  Does  He  not 
daily  make  devout  souls  the  tabernacles  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?  And  shall  we  have  the  hardihood  to  deny, 
in  spite  of  our  Lord's  plain  declaration,  that  God, 
who  works  these  wonders,  is  able  to  change  bread 
and  wine  into  His  body  and  blood  for  the  food  of 
our  souls  ? 

You  tell  me  it  is  a  mystery  above  your  compre 
hension.  A  mystery,  indeed.  A  religion  that  rejects 


334  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

a  revealed  truth  because  it  is  incomprehensible,  con 
tains  in  itself  the  seeds  of  dissolution,  and  will  end 
in  rationalism.  Is  not  everything  around  us  a  mys 
tery  ?  Are  we  not  a  mystery  to  ourselves  ?  Explain 
to  me  how  the  blood  circulates  in  your  veins ;  how 
the  soul  animates  and  permeates  the  whole  body; 
how  the  hand  moves  at  the  will  of  the  soul.  Ex 
plain  to  me  the  mystery  of  life  and  death. 

Is  not  the  Scripture  full  of  incomprehensible  mys 
teries  ?  Do  you  not  believe  in  the  Trinity,  a  mystery 
not  only  above,  but  apparently  contrary  to,  reason  ? 
Do  you  not  admit  the  Incarnation, —  that  the  help 
less  infant  in  Bethlehem  was  God?  I  understand 
why  nationalists,  who  admit  nothing  above  their  rea 
son,  reject  the  Keal  Presence ;  but  that  Bible  Chris 
tians  should  reject  it,  is  to  me  incomprehensible. 

But  do  those  who  reject  the  Catholic  interpreta 
tion,  explain  this  text  to  their  own  satisfaction : 
"  This  is  My  body,  etc.  ?  "  Alas !  here  their  burden 
begins.  Only  a  few  years  after  the  early  Reformers 
had  rejected  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist, 
no  fewer  than  one  hundred  meanings  were  given  to 
these  words:  "This  is  My  body."  It  is  far  easier  to 
destroy  than  to  rebuild. 

Let  me  now  offer  you  some  additional  reasons  in 
favor  of  the  Catholic  or  literal  sense.  According  to 
a  common  rule  observed  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Holy  Scripture,  we  must  always  take  the  words 
in  their  literal  signification,  unless  we  have  some 
special  reason  which  obliges  us  to  accept  them  in  a 


THE  HOLY   EUCHARIST.  335 

figurative  meaning.  Now,  in  the  present  instance, 
far  from  being  forced  to  employ  the  words  above 
quoted  in  a  figurative  sense,  every  circumstance  con 
nected  with  the  delivery  of  them  obliges  us  to  in 
terpret  them  in  their  plain  and  literal  acceptation. 

To  whom  did  our  Saviour  address  these  words? 
At  what  time  and  under  what  circumstances  did  He 
speak  ?  He  was  addressing  His  few  chosen  disciples, 
to  whom  He  promised  to  speak  in  future,  not  in 
parables  nor  in  obscure  language,  but  in  the  words 
of  simple  truth.  He  uttered  these  words  the  night 
before  His  Passion.  And  when  will  a  person  use 
plainer  speech  than  at  the  point  of  death  ? 

These  words :  "  This  is  My  body ;  this  is  My 
blood,"  embodied  a  new  dogma  of  faith  which  all 
were  obliged  to  believe,  and  a  new  law  which  all 
were  obliged  to  practise.  They  were  the  last  will 
and  testament  of  our  blessed  Saviour.  What  lan 
guage  should  be  plainer  than  that  which  contains  an 
article  of  faith  ?  What  words  should  be  more  free 
from  tropes  and  figures  than  those  which  enforce  a 
divine  law?  But,  above  all,  where  will  you  find 
any  words  more  plain  and  unvarnished  than  those 
contained  in  a  last  will  ? 

Now,  if  we  understand  these  words  in  their  plain 
and  obvious,  that  is,  in  their  Catholic,  sense,  no  lan 
guage  can  be  more  simple  and  intelligible.  But  if 
we  depart  from  the  Catholic  interpretation,  then  it  ia 
impossible  to  attach  to  them  any  reasonable  mean 
ing. 


336  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

We  DOW  arrive  at  the  third  class  of  Scripture 
texts  xvhich  have  reference  to  the  use  or  reception 
of  the  Sacrament  among  the  faithful. 

When  Jesus,  as  you  remember,  instituted  the 
Eucharist  at  His  last  Supper,  He  commanded  His 
disciples  and  their  successors  to  renew,  till  the  end 
of  time,  in  remembrance  of  Him,  the  ceremony 
which  He  performed.  What  I  have  done,  do  ye  also 
"  for  a  commemoration  of  Me." 1 

We  have  a  very  satisfactory  means  of  ascertaining 
the  Apostolic  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist, 
by  examining  what  the  Apostles  did  in  commemora 
tion  of  our  Lord.  Did  they  bless  and  distribute 
mere  bread  and  wine  to  the  faithful?  or  did  they 
consecrate,  as  they  believed,  the  body  and  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  ?  If  they  professed  to  give  only  bread 
and  wine  in  memory  of  our  Lord's  Supper,  then  the 
Catholic  interpretation  falls  to  the  ground.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  we  find  the  Apostles  and  their  suc 
cessors,  from  the  first  to  the  nineteenth  century,  pro 
fessing  to  consecrate  and  dispense  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  and  doing  so  by  virtue  of  the  com 
mand  of  their  Saviour,  then  the  Catholic  interpreta 
tion  alone  is  admissible. 

Let  St.  Paul  be  our  first  witness.  Represent  your 
self  as  a  member  of  the  primitive  Christian  congre 
gation  assembled  in  Corinth.  A  letter  is  read  from 
the  Apostle  Paul,  in  which  the  following  words  occur : 

1  Luke  xxii.  19, 


THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST.  337 

"  The  chalice  of  benediction  which  we  bless,  is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ?  and  the 
bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  partaking  of  the 
body  of  the  Lord  ?  .  .  .  For,  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered  to  you,  that  the 
Lord  Jesus,  on  the  night  in  which  He  was  betrayed, 
took  bread,  and  giving  thanks,  brake  it,  and  said : 
Take  and  eat :  this  is  My  body  which  shall  be  de 
livered  for  you.  This  do  for  the  commemoration  of 
Me.  In  like  manner  also  the  chalice,  after  the  sup 
per,  saying:  This  cup  is  the  New  Covenant  in  My 
blood.  This  do  ye,  as  often  as  ye  shall  drink,  for 
the  commemoration  of  Me.  For,  as  often  as  ye 
shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  cup,  ye  shall 
show  the  death  of  the  Lord  until  He  come.  There 
fore,  whoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  the 
chalice  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
body  and  of  the  blood  of  the  Lord.  But  let  a  man 
prove  himself;  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  bread  and 
drink  of  the  chalice.  For,  he  who  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  judgment  to 
himself,  not  discerning  the  body  of  the  Lord."  * 

Could  St.  Paul  express  more  clearly  his  belief  in 
the  Real  Presence  than  he  has  done  here  ?  The 
Apostle  distinctly  affirms  that  the  chalice  and  bread 
which  he  and  his  fellow  Apostles  bless,  is  a  partici 
pation  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  And  surely 
no  one  could  be  said  to  partake  of  that  divine  food 
by  eating  ordinary  bread.  Mark  these  words  of 

1 1.  Cor.  x.  16,  and  xi.  23,  29. 
29  W 


338  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

the  Apostle :  Whosoever  shall  take  the  Sacrament 
unworthily,  "shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord."  What  a  heinous  crime !  For,  these 
words  signify  that  he  who  receives  the  Sacrament 
unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  sin  of  high  treason, 
and  of  shedding  the  blood  of  his  Lord  in  vain.  But 
how  could  he  be  guilty  of  a  crime  so  enormous,  if 
he  had  taken  in  the  Eucharist  only  a  particle  of 
bread  and  wine?  Would  a  man  be  accused  of 
homicide,  in  this  commonwealth,  if  he  were  to  offer 
violence  to  the  statue  or  painting  of  the  governor? 
Certainly  not.  In  like  manner,  St.  Paul  would  not 
be  so  unreasonable  as  to  declare  a  man  guilty  of 
trampling  on  the  blood  of  his  Saviour,  by  drinking 
in  an  unworthy  manner  a  little  wine  in  memory 
of  Him. 

Study  also  these  words:  "He  who  eateth  and 
drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  condem 
nation  to  himself,  not  discerning  the  body  of  the 
Lord."  The  unworthy  receiver  is  condemned  for 
not  recognizing  or  discerning  in  the  Eucharist  the 
body  of  the  Lord.  How  could  he  be  blamed  for 
not  discerning  the  body  of  the  Lord,  if  there  were 
only  bread  and  wine  before  him?  Hence,  if  the 
words  of  St.  Paul  are  figuratively  understood,  they 
are  distorted,  forced,  and  exaggerated  terms,  with 
out  meaning  or  truth.  But,  if  they  are  taken  lit 
erally,  they  are  full  of  sense  and  of  awful  signifi 
cance,  and  an  eloquent  commentary  on  the  words  I 
have  quoted  from  the  Evangelist. 


THE  HOLY  EUCHARIST.  339 

The  Fathers  of  the  Church,  without  an  exception, 
re-echo  the  language  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles, 
by  proclaiming  the  Real  Presence  of  our  Lord  in 
the  Eucharist.  I  have  counted  the  names  of  sixty- 
three  Fathers  and  eminent  ecclesiastical  writers 
flourishing  between  the  first  and  the  sixth  century, 
all  of  whom  proclaim  the  Real  Presence  —  some  by 
explaining  the  mystery,  others  by  thanking  God  for 
this  inestimable  gift,  and  others  by  exhorting  the 
faithful  to  its  worthy  reception.  From  such  a  host 
of  witnesses,  I  can  select  here  only  a  few  at  random. 

St.  Ignatius,  a  disciple  of  St.  Peter,  speaking  of  a 
sect  called  Gnostics,  says :  "  They  abstain  from  the 
Eucharist  and  prayer,  because  they  confess  not  that 
the  Eucharist  is  the  flesh  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

St.  Justin  Martyr,  in  an  apology  to  the  Emperor 
Antoninus,  writes  in  the  second  century :  "  We  do 
not  receive  these  things  as  common  bread  and  drink  ; 
but  as  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  was  made  flesh  by 
the  word  of  God,  even  so  we  have  been  taught  that 
the  Eucharist  is  both  the  flesh  and  the  blood  of  the  same 
incarnate  Jesus." 

Origen  (third  century)  writes :  "  If  thou  wilt  go 
op  with  Christ  to  celebrate  the  Passover,  He  will 
give  to  thee  that  bread  of  benediction,  His  own  body, 
and  will  vouchsafe  to  thee  His  own  blood." 

St.  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem,  (fourth  century)  instruct 
ing  the  Catechumens,  observes  :  "  He  Himself  hav 
ing  declared,  This  is  My  body,  who  shall  dare  to 
idoubt  henceforward?  And  He  having  said,  This 


340  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

is  My  blood,  who  shall  ever  doubt,  saying :  This  ip 
not  His  blood?  He  once  at  Cana  turned  water 
into  wine,  which  is  akin  to  blood ;  and  is  He  un 
deserving  of  belief,  when  He  turned  wine  into 
blood  ?  "  He  seems  to  be  arguing  with  modern  un 
belief. 

St.  John  Chrysostom,  who  died  in  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  century,  preaching  on  the  Eucharist, 
says :  "  If  thou  wert  indeed  incorporeal,  He  would 
have  delivered  to  thee  those  same  incorporeal  gifts 
without  covering.  But  since  the  soul  is  united  to 
the  body,  He  delivers  to  thee  in  things  perceptible 
to  the  senses,  the  things  to  be  apprehended  by 
the  understanding.  How  many  nowadays  say: 
*  Would  that  we  could  look  upon  His  (Jesus') 
form,  His  figure,  His  raiment,  His  shoes.  Lo  1 
thou  seest  Him,  touchest  Him,  eatest  Him.'  " 

St.  Augnstine  (fifth  century),  addressing  the 
newly-baptized,  says:  "I  promised  you  a  discourse 
wherein  I  would  explain  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord'd  table,  which  sacrament  you  even  now  behold, 
and  of  which  you  were  last  night  made  partakers. 
You  ought  to  know  what  you  have  received.  The 
bread  which  you  see  on  the  altar,  after  being  sanc 
tified  by  the  word  of  God,  is  the  body  of  Christ. 
That  chalice,  after  being  sanctified  by  the  word  of 
God,  is  the  blood  of  Christ."  * 

Eut  why  multiply  authorities?    At  the  present 

1  See  Faith  of  Catholics,  Vol.  II. 


COMMUNION  UNDER   ONE   KIND.  311 

day,  every  Christian  communion  throughout  the 
world,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Protestants,  pro 
claims  its  belief  in  the  Real  Presence  of  Christ  in 
the  Sacrament. 

The  Nestoriaus  and  Eutychians,  who  separated 
from  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  fifth  century,  admit 
the  corporeal  presence  of  our  Lord  in  the  Eucharist. 
Such  also  is  the  faith  of  the  Greek  church,  which 
seceded  from  us  a  thousand  years  ago,  as  well  as 
of  the  present  Russian  church.  And  such  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  schismatic  Copts,  the  Syrians, 
Chaldeans,  Armenians,  and,  in  short,  of  all  the 
Oriental  sects  no  longer  in  communion  with  the 
See  of  Rome. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

COMMUNION   UNDER   ONE    KIND. 

OUR  Saviour  gave  communion  under  both  forms 
of  bread  and  wine,  to  His  Apostles  at  the  last 
Supper.  Officiating  bishops  and  priests  are  always 
required,  except  on  Good  Friday,  to  communicate 
under  both  kinds.  But  even  the  clergy  of  every 
rank,  including  the  Pope,  receive  only  of  the  con 
secrated  bread,  unless  when  they  celebrate  Mass. 

The   Church   teaches    that    Christ   is   contained 
whole  and  entire  under  each  species ;  so  that  who 
ever    communicates    under    the   form  of  bread   or 
of  wine,  receives  not  a  mutilated  Sacrament  or  a 
29* 


342  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

divided  Saviour,  but  shares  in  the  whole  Sacrament 
as  fully  as  if  he  participated  in  both  forms.  Hence, 
the  layman  who  receives  the  consecrated  bread,  par 
takes  as  copiously  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  as 
the  officiating  priest  who  receives  both  consecrated 
elements. 

Our  Lord  says:  "I  am  the  living  bread  which 
came  down  from  heaven.  If  any  man  eat  of  this 
bread,  he  shall  live  forever;  and  the  bread  which 
I  will  give  is  My  flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world.  .  .  . 
He  that  eateth  Me,  the  same  also  shall  live  by  Me. 
He  that  eateth  this  bread,  shall  live  forever." l 

From  this  passage,  it  is  evident  that  whoever  par- 
takes  of  the  form  of  bread,  partakes  of  the  living 
flesh  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  inseparable  from  His 
blood,  and  which,  being  now  in  a  glorious  state, 
cannot  be  divided ;  for,  "  Christ  rising  from  the 
dead,  dieth  now  no  more."2  Our  Lord,  in  Hia 
words  quoted,  makes  no  reference  to  the  sacramental 
cup,  but  only  to  the  Eucharistic  bread,  to  which  He 
ascribes  all  the  efficacy  which  is  attached  to  com 
munion  under  both  kinds,  viz.,  union  with  Him, 
spiritual  life,  eternal  salvation. 

St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  says :  "  Who 
soever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  the  chalice  of 
the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body 
and  of  the  blood  of  the  Lord."  *  The  Apostle  here 
plainly  declares  that,  by  an  unworthy  participation 

1  John  vi.  51,  and  seq.  •  Kom.  vi.  9. 

3  I.  Cor.  xi.  27. 


COMMUNION   UNDER   ONE   KIND.  343 

in  the  Lord's  Supper,  under  the  form  of  either  bread 
or  wine,  we  profane  both  the  body  and  the  blood  of 
Christ.  How  could  this  be  so,  unless  Christ  is 
entirely  contained  under  each  species?  So  forcibly, 
indeed,  did  the  Apostle  assert  the  Catholic  doctrine, 
that  the  Protestant  translators  have  perverted  the 
text  by  rendering  it :  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  this 
bread  and  drink  the  chalice,"  substituting  and  for 
or,  in  contradiction  to  the  Greek  original,  of  which 
the  Catholic  version  is  an  exact  translation. 

It  is  also  the  received  doctrine  of  the  Fathers, 
that  the  Eucharist  is  contained  in  all  its  integrity 
either  in  the  consecrated  bread  or  in  the  chalice. 
St.  Augustine  who  may  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  the 
rest,  says  that  "  each  one  receives  Christ  the  Lord 
entire  under  each  particle." l 

Luther  himself,  even  after  his  revolt,  was  so  clear 
ly  convinced  of  this  truth,  that  he  was  an  uncom 
promising  advocate  of  communion  under  one  kind. 
"  If  any  Council,"  he  says,  "  should  decree  or  permit 
both  species,  we  would  by  no  means  acquiesce ;  but, 
in  spite  of  the  Council  and  its  statute,  we  would  use 
one  form,  or  neither,  and  never  both." a 

Leibnitz,  the  eminent  Protestant  divine,  observes: 
"It,  cannot  be  denied  that  Christ  is  received  entire  by 
virtue  of  concomitance,  under  each  species;  nor  is 
His  flesh  separated  from  His  blood."  * 

As  the  same  virtue  is  contained  in  the  Sacrament, 

1  Aug.  De  consec.  dist.  2  De  formula  Missae. 

8  Systema  TheoL,  p.  250. 


344  THE    FAITH   OF   OUR    FATHERS. 

whether  administered  in  one  or  both  forms,  the 
faithful  gain  nothing  by  receiving  under  both  kinds, 
and  lose  nothing  by  receiving  under  one  form.  Con 
sequently,  we  nowhere  find  our  Saviour  requiring 
the  communion  to  be  administered  to  the  faithful 
under  both  forms ;  but  He  has  left  this  maltei  to 
be  regulated  by  the  wisdom  and  discretion  of  the 
Church,  as  He  has  done  with  regard  to  the  manner 
of  administering  Baptism. 

Our  Redeemer,  it  is  true,  has  said  :  "  Drink  ye 
all  of  this."  But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
these  words  were  addressed  not  to  the  people  at 
large,  but  only  to  the  Apostles,  who  alone  were  also 
commanded,  on  the  same  occasion,  to  consecrate  His 
body  and  blood  in  remembrance  of  Him.  Now  we 
have  no  more  right  to  infer  that  the  faithful  are 
obliged  to  drink  of  the  cup,  because  the  Apostles 
were  commanded  to  drink  of  it,  than  we  have  to 
suppose  that  the  laity  are  required  or  allowed  to 
consecrate  the  bread  and  wine,  because  the  power 
of  doing  so  was  at  the  last  Supper  conferred  on  the 
Apostles. 

It  is  also  true  that  our  Lord  said  to  the  people : 
"  Unless  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and 
drink  His  blood,  ye  shall  not  have  life  in  you."  But 
this  command  is  literally  fulfilled  by  the  laity  when 
they  partake  of  the  consecrated  bread,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  contains  Christ  the  Lord  in  all  His  integ 
rity.  Hence,  if  our  Saviour  has  said :  "  Whoso 
eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath  ever- 


COMMUNION   UNDER   ONE   KIND.  345 

lasting  life,"  He  has  also  said :  "  The  bread  which  I 
will  give  is  My  flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world." 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  charge  of  withholding  the 
cup  comes  with  very  bad  grace  from  Protestant 
teachers,  who  destroy  the  whole  intrinsic  virtue  of 
the  Sacrament  by  giving  to  their  followers  nothing 
but  bread  and  wine.  The  difference  between  them 
and  us  lies  in  this,  that  under  one  form  we  give  the 
substance,  while  they  under  two  forms  confessedly 
give  only  the  shadow. 

In  examining  the  history  of  the  Church  on  the 
subject,  we  find  that  up  to  the  twelfth  century,  com 
munion  was  sometimes  distributed  in  one  form,  some 
times  in  another,  commonly  in  both. 

1.  St.  Luke  tells  us  that  the  converts  of  Jerusa 
lem  "  were  persevering  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Apos 
tles,  and  in  the  communication  of  bread  (as  the 
Eucharist  was  sometimes  familiarly  called),  and  in 
prayer." l  And  again  he  speaks  of  the  Christian 
disciples  assembled  at  Troas  on  the  Lord's  day,  "  to 
break  bread." 2  We  are  led"  to  conclude,  from  these 
passages,  that  the  Apostles  sometimes  distributed  the 
communion  in  the  form  of  bread  alone,  as  no  refer 
ence  is  made  to  the  cup. 

It  was  certainly  the  custom  to  carry  to  the  sick 
only  the  consecrated  host.  And  surely,  if  there  is 
any  period  of  life  when  nothing  should  be  neglected 
which  conduces  to  salvation,  it  is  the  time  of  ap 
proaching  death.  Eusebius  tells  us  that  the  aged 

1  Acte  ii.  42.  '  Ibid.  xx.  7. 


346  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Serapion  received  only  the  sacred  bread  at  the  hands 
of  the  priest.  And  in  the  life  of  St.  Ambrose,  we 
are  told  that  in  his  last  illness  the  consecrated  host 
alone  was  given  to  him. 

The  Christians  in  time  of  persecution,  confessors 
of  the  faith  confined  in  prison,  travellers  on  their 
journey,  soldiers  before  engaging  in  battle,  and 
hermits  living  in  the  desert,  were  permitted  to  keep 
with  them,  and  to  fortify  themselves  with,  the  con 
secrated  bread,  as  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Basil,  Am 
brose,  and  other  Fathers  of  the  Church  testify. 

Moreover,  in  the  Mass  of  the  Presanctified>  cele 
brated  in  the  Latin  church  on  Good  Friday  only, 
and  in  the  Greek  church  on  every  day  in  Lent, 
except  Saturdays  and  Sundays,  the  officiating  Priest 
receives  the  consecrated  bread  alone.1 

In  all  these  instances,  the  communicants  never 
doubted  that  they  received  the  Lord's  Supper  in  its 
integrity.  And  surely  the  conscientious  guides  of 
the  faith  would  sooner  withhold  altogether  the  sacred 
host  from  their  flocks,  than  permit  them  to  partake 
of  a  mutilated  Sacrament. 

2.  In  the  primitive  days  of  the  Church,  the  Holy 
Communion  used  to  be  imparted  to  infants,  but  only 
in  the  form  of  wine.  The  priest  dipped  his  finger 
in  the  consecrated  chalice,  and  gave  it  to  be  sucked 
by  the  infant.  This  custom  prevails  to  this  day 
among  the  schismatic  Christians  of  all  the  Oriental 

1  Alzog's  Hist.,  Vol.  L,  p.  72L 


COMMUNION  UNDER   ONE   KIND.  817 

rites.     In  some  instances,  the  sacred  host,  saturated 
in  the  cup,  is  given  to  the  child.1 

3.  Public  communion  was,  indeed,  usually  ad- 
ministered  in  the  first  ages  under  both  forms.  The 
faithful,  however,  had  the  privilege  of  dispensing 
with  the  cup,  and  of  partaking  only  of  the  bread, 
until  the  time  of  Pope  Gelasius,  in  the  fifth  century, 
when  this  general,  but  hitherto  optional,  practice  of 
receiving  under  both  kinds  was  enforced  as  a  law 
for  the  following  reason : 

The  Manichean  sect  abstained  from  the  cup  on 
the  erroneous  assumption  that  the  use  of  wine  was 
sinful.  Pope  Gelasius,  in  order  to  detect  and  con 
demn  the  error  of  those  sectaries,  left  it  no  longer 
optional  with  the  faithful  to  receive  under  one  or 
both  forms,  but  ordained  that  all  should  communi 
cate  under  both  kinds. 

This  law  continued  in  force  for  several  ages,  but 
towards  the  thirteenth  century,  for  various  causes, 
it  had  gradually  grown  into  disuse,  with  the  tacit 
approval  of  the  Church.  The  Council  of  Constance, 
which  convened  in  1414,  established  a  law  requiring 
the  faithful  to  communicate  under  the  form  of  bread 
only;  and  in  taking  this  step,  the  Council  was  actu 
ated  both  by  reasons  of  propriety  and  of  religion. 

The  wide-spread  diffusion  of  Christianity  through 
out  the  world  had  rendered  it  very  difficult  to  supply 
all  the  faithful  with  the  consecrated  wine.  Such 
inconvenience  is  scarcely  felt  by  Protestant  com- 

1  Denziger  Kit.  Orientales. 


348  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

municants,  whose  numbers  are  limited,  and  who 
ordinarily  communicate  only  on  certain  Sundays  of 
each  month.  The  Catholics  of  the  world,  on  the  con 
trary,  number  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  mil 
lions  ;  and  as  communion  is  administered  to  some  of 
the  faithful  almost  every  day,  in  most  of  our  churches 
and  chapels,  and  as  the  annual  communions  in  every 
Parish  church  are  generally  at  least  twice  as  numer 
ous  as  its  aggregate  Catholic  population,  the  sum 
total  of  annual  communions  throughout  the  globe 
may  be  estimated  in  round  numbers  at  not  less  than 
five  hundred  millions.  What  efforts  would  be  re 
quired  to  procure  altar-wine  for  such  a  multitude? 
In  my  missionary  journeys  through  North  Carolina, 
I  have  often  found  it  no  easy  task  to  provide  for  the 
celebration  of  Mass  a  sufficiency  of  pure  wine,  which 
is  essential  for  the  validity  of  the  sacrifice.  This 
embarrassment  would  be  increased  beyond  measure, 
if  the  cup  had  to  be  extended  to  the  laity,  and  still 
more  so  in  cold  regions,  where  the  cultivation  of  the 
grape  is  unknown,  and  where  imported  wine  is  ex 
clusively  used.1 

It  would  be  very  distasteful,  besides,  for  so  many 

1  While  Protestants  consider  the  cup  as  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  communion  service,  they  do  not  seem,  in  many 
instances,  to  be  very  particular  as  to  what  the  cup  will  con 
tain.  I  am  credibly  informed,  that  in  a  certain  Episcopal 
church  in  Virginia,  communicants  partake  of  the  juice  of  the 
blackberry,  instead  of  the  juice  of  the  grape.  And  the  New 
York  Independent,  of  September  21,  1876,  relates  the  follow 
ing  incident:  "  A  late  English  traveller  found  a  Baptist  tnis- 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS.  349 

Communicants  to  drink  successively  out  of  the  same 
chalice,  which  would  be  unavoidable,  if  the  Sacra 
ment  were  administered  in  both  forms.  And  in  our 
larger  churches,  where  communion  is  distributed 
every  Sunday  to  hundreds,  there  would  be  great 
danger  of  spilling  a  portion  of  the  consecrated 
chalice,  and  of  thus  exposing  it  to  profanation. 

But  above  all,  as  the  Church  in  the  fifth  century, 
through  her  chief  Pastor,  Gelasius,  enforced  the  use 
of  the  cup,  to  expose  and  reprobate  the  error  of  the 
Manichees,  who  imagined  that  the  use  of  wine  was 
sinful ;  so  in  the  fifteenth  century  she  withdrew  the 
cup,  to  condemn  the  novelties  of  the  Calixtines,  who 
taught  that  the  consecrated  wine  was  necessary  for 
a  valid  communion.  And  should  circumstances  ever 
justify  or  demand  a  change  from  the  present  disci 
pline,  the  Church  will  not  hesitate  to  restore  the  cup 
to  the  laity. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  SACRIFICE   OF   THE   MASS. 

SACRIFICE  is  the  oblation  or  offering  made  to 
God  of  some  sensible  object,  with  the  destruc 
tion  or  change  of  the  object,  to  denote  that  God  is 
the  Author  of  life  and  death.     Thus,  in  the  Old 

sion  church,  in  far-off  Burmah,  using  for  the  communion 
service  Bass's  pale  ale  instead  of  wine.  The  opening  of  the 
frothing  bottle  on  the  communion  table  seemed  not  quite 
decorous  to  the  visitor,  who  presented  the  pastoi  with  a  half- 
dozen  bottles  of  claret  for  sacramental  use." 
30 


S.jO  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

Law,  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  when  the  He 
brew  people  wished  to  offer  sacrifice  to  God,  they 
took  a  lamb,  or  some  other  animal,  which  they 
slew,  and  burned  its  flesh,  acknowledging  by  this 
act  that  the  Lord  was  the  supreme  Master  of  life 
and  death.  The  ancients  offered  to  God  two  kinds 
of  sacrifices,  viz.,  living  creatures,  such  as  bulls, 
lambs,  and  birds ;  and  inanimate  objects,  such  as 
wheat  and  barley,  and,  in  general,  the  first  fruits 
of  the  earth. 

All  nations,  whether  Jews,  idolaters,  or  Christians, 
except  Mahometans  and  modern  Protestants,  have 
made  sacrifice  their  principal  act  of  worship.  If 
you  go  back  to  the  very  dawn  of  creation,  you  will 
find  the  children  of  Adam  offering  sacrifices  to  God. 
Abel  offered  to  the  Lord  the  firstlings  of  his  flock, 
and  Cain  offered  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth.1 

When  Noe  and  his  family  are  rescued  from  the 
deluge  which  had  spread  over  the  face  of  the  earth, 
his  first  act  on  issuing  from  the  ark,  when  the  waters 
disappear,  is  to  offer  holocausts  to  the  Lord,  in  thanks 
giving  for  his  preservation.2  Abraham,  the  great 
father  of  the  Jewish  race,  offered  victims  to  the  Al 
mighty  at  His  express  command.3  And  we  read 
that  Job  was  accustomed  to  offer  holocausts  to  the 
Lord,  to  propitiate  His  favor  in  behalf  of  his  chil 
dren,  and  to  obtain  forgiveness  for  the  sins  they 
might  have  committed.4 

When  Jehovah   delivered  to  Moses  the  written 

1  Gen.  iv.         2lbid.  vih.         8Ibid.  xv.          *  Job  i. 


THE   SACRIFICE   OF  THE    MASS.  351 

law  on  Mount  Sinai,  He  gave  His  servant  the  most 
minute  details  with  regard  to  all  the  ceremonies  to 
be  observed  in  the  sacrifices  which  were  to  be  of 
fered  to  Him.  He  prescribed  the  kind  of  victims  to 
be  immolated,  the  qualifications  of  the  priests  who 
were  to  minister  at  the  altar,  and  the  place  and 
manner  in  which  the  victims  were  to  be  offered. 
Hence,  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Jewish  priests  to 
slny  every  day  two  lambs,  as  a  sacrifice  to  God  ;r 
and  in  doing  this  they  were  prefiguring  the  great 
sacrifice  of  the  New  Law,  in  which  we  daily  offer 
up  on  the  altar  "the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world/' 

In  a  word,  in  all  their  public  calamities — whenever 
they  were  threatened  by  their  enemies;  whenever 
they  were  about  to  engage  in  war ;  whenever  they 
were  visited  by  any  plague  or  pestilence  —  the  Jews 
had  recourse  to  God  by  solemn  sacrifices.  And  like 
the  Catholic  Church  of  the  present  day,  they  had 
sacrifices  not  only  for  the  living,  but  also  for  the 
dead.  For,  we  find  in  sacred  Scripture  that  Judas 
Machabeus  ordered  sacrifice  to  be  offered  up  for 
the  souls  of  his  men  who  were  slain  in  battle.2 

And  we  find  sacrifices  existing  not  only  among 
the  Jews  who  worshipped  the  true  God,  but  also 
among  Pagan  and  idolatrous  nations. 

No  matter  how  confused  or  imperfect  or  errone 
ous  was  their  knowledge  of  the  Deity,  still,  the  Pagan 
nations  retained  sufficient  vestiges  of  primitive  tra< 

Numb,  xxviii.  2II.  Mac.  xii.  43-46. 


352  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

dition  to  admonish  them  of  their  obligation  of  ap 
peasing  the  anger  and  invoking  the  blessings  of  the 
Divinity  by  victims  and  sacrifices.  Plutarch,  an 
ancient  writer  who  lived  in  the  second  century,  says 
of  these  heathen  people :  "  You  may  find  cities  with 
out  walls,  without  literature,  and  without  the  arts 
and  sciences  of  civilized  life ;  but  you  will  never  find 
a  city  without  priests  and  altars,  or  which  has  not 
sacrifices  offered  to  the  gods." 

The  Indians  of  our  own  country  were  accustomed 
to  offer  sacrifice  to  the  Great  Spirit,  as  Father 
Jogues  and  other  pioneer  missionaries  inform  us. 
But  all  those  ancient  sacrifices  were  only  the  types 
and  figures  of  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  New  Law, 
from  which  they  derived  all  their  efficacy ;  just  as 
the  Old  Law  itself  was  the  type  of  the  New  Law  of 
grace.  And  because  the  ancient  sacrifices  were  but 
figures  and  shadows,  they  were  imperfect  and  insuffi 
cient;  for,  "it  is  impossible,"  says  St.  Paul,  "that 
by  the  blood  of  oxen  and  of  goats  sins  should  be 
taken  away.  Wherefore,  when  He  (Jesus)  cometh 
into  the  world,  He  saith :  Sacrifice  and  oblation  Thou 
wouldst  not,  but  a  body  Thou  hast  fitted  to  M.e. 
Holocausts  for  sin  did  not  please  Thee.  Then  said 
I :  Behold  I  come." l  As  if  He  should  say  :  The 
blood  of  oxen  and  of  goats  is  not  sufficient  to  ap 
pease  Thy  vengeance,  and  to  cleanse  Thy  people  from 
their  sins  ;  therefore  I  come,  that  I  may  offer  Myself 
an  acceptable  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

1  Heb.  x.  4-7. 


THE   SACRIFICE   OF   THE   MASS.  353 

The  Prophet  Isaiah  declared  that  the  Jewish 
sacrifices  had  become  displeasing  to  God,  and  would 
be  abolished.  "  To  what  purpose,"  says  the  Lord 
by  His  prophet,  "do  you  offer  Me  the  multitude 
of  your  victims?  ...  I  desire  not  holocausts  of 
rams,  .  .  .  and  blood  of  calves  and  lambs  and  buck- 
goats.  .  .  .  Offer  sacrifice  no  more  in  vain." * 

But  did  God,  in  rejecting  the  Jewish  oblations, 
intend  to  abolish  sacrifices  altogether?  By  no 
means.  On  the  contrary,  He  clearly  predicts,  by 
the  mouth  of  the  Prophet  Malachiah,  that  the  im 
molations  of  the  Jews  would  be  succeeded  by  a  clean 
victim,  which  would  be  offered  up  not  on  a  single 
altar,  as  was  the  case  in  Jerusalem,  but  in  every  part 
of  the  known  world.  Listen  to  the  significant  words 
addressed  to  the  Jews  by  this  prophet :  "  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will 
not  receive  a  gift  of  your  hand.  For,  from  the  ris 
ing  of  the  sun,  even  to  the  going  down,  My  Name  is 
great  among  the  Gentiles,  and  in  every  place  there 
is  sacrifice,  and  there  is  offered  to  My  Name  a  clean 
oblation  ;  for,  My  Name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 2  The  prophet  here  clearly 
foretells  that  an  acceptable  oblation  would  be  offered 
to  God  not  by  Jews,  but  by  Gentiles;  not  merelv  in 
Jerusalem,  but  in  every  place  from  the  rising  to  the 
setting  of  the  sun.  These  prophetic  words  must 
have  been  fulfilled.  Where  shall  we  find  the  fulfil* 
ment  of  the  prophecy? 

i  Isaiah  i.  11-13.  a  Mai.  i.  10,  11. 

30*  X 


354  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS 

We  may  divide  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  into 
five  different  classes  of  people,  professing  different 
forms  of  religion,  —  Pagans,  Jews,  Mahometans, 
Protestants,  and  Catholics.  Among  which  of  these 
shall  we  find  the  clean  oblation  of  which  the  prophet 
speaks  ?  Not  among  the  Pagan  nations  ;  for  they 
worship  false  gods,  and  consequently  cannot  have 
any  sacrifice  pleasing  to  the  Almighty.  Not  among 
the  Jews ;  for  they  have  ceased  to  sacrifice  alto 
gether,  and  the  words  of  the  prophet  apply  not  to 
the  Jews,  but  to  the  Gentiles.  Not  among  the 
Mahometans  ;  for  they  also  reject  sacrifices.  Not 
among  any  of  the  Protestant  sects ;  for  they  all 
distinctly  repudiate  sacrifices.  Therefore,  it  is  only 
in  the  Catholic  Church  that  is  fulfilled  this  glorious 
prophecy ;  for,  whithersoever  you  go,  you  will  find 
the  clean  oblation  offered  on  Catholic  altars.  If 
you  travel  from  America  to  Europe,  to  Oceauica,  to 
Africa,  or  Asia,  you  will  see  our  altars  erected,  and 
our  priests  daily  fulfilling  the  words  of  the  prophet, 
by  offering  the  "  clean  oblation  "  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ. 

This  oblation  of  the  New  Law  is  commonly  called 
the  Mass.  The  word  Mass  is  derived  by  some  from 
the  Hebrew  term  Missach  (Deut.  xvi.),  which  means 
a  free  offering.  Others  derive  it  from  the  word 
Missa,  which  the  priest  uses  when  he  announces  to 
the  congregation  that  divine  service  is  over.  It  is 
an  expression  indelibly  marked  on  our  English 


THE  SACRIFICE   OF  THE   MASS.  355 

tongue  from  the  origin  of  our  language,  and  we 
find  it  embodied  in  such  words  as  Candlemas, 
Michael-mas,  Martin-mas,  and  Christmas. 

The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  the  consecration  of 
the  bread  and  wine  into  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  and  the  oblation  of  this  body  and  blood 
to  God,  by  the  ministry  of  the  priest,  for  a  per 
petual  memorial  of  Christ's  sacrifice  on  the  cross. 
The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  identical  with  that  of 
the  cross,  both  having  the  same  victim  and  High 
Priest  —  Jesus  Christ. 

The  only  difference  consists  in  the  manner  of  the 
oblation.  Christ  was  offered  up  on  the  cross  in  a 
bloody  manner,  and  in  the  Mass  He  is  offered  up 
in  an  unbloody  manner.  On  the  cross  He  pur 
chased  our  ransom,  and  in  the  Eucharistic  sacri 
fice  the  price  of  that  ransom  is  applied  to  our 
souls.  Hence,  all  the  efficacy  of  the  Mass  is  de 
rived  from  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary. 

It  was  on  the  night  before  He  suffered  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  instituted  the  sacrifice  of  the 
New  Law.  "Jesus,"  says  St.  Paul,  "the  night  in 
which  He  was  betrayed,  took  bread,  and  giving 
thanks,  broke  and  said:  Take  ye  and  eat;  this  is 
My  body  which  shall  be  delivered  for  you.  This 
do  for  the  commemoration  of  Me.  In  like  man 
ner  also  the  chalice,  after  He  had  supped,  saying : 
This  chalice  is  the  new  testament  in  My  blood. 
This  do  ye,  as  often  as  you  shall  drink,  for  the 
commemoration  of  Me ;  for  as  often  as  ye  shall 


35G  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  chalice,  ye  shall  show 
show  the  death  of  the  Lord  until  He  come."1 

From  these  words  we  learn  that  the  principal 
motive  which  our  Saviour  had  in  view,  in  insti^ 
tuting  the  sacrifice  of  the  altar,  was  to  keep  us  in 
perpetual  remembrance  of  His  sufferings  and  death. 
He  wished  that  the  scene  of  Calvary  should  ever  ap 
pear  in  panoramic  view  before  our  eyes,  and  that  our 
hearts  and  memories  and  intellects  should  be  filled 
with  the  thoughts  of  His  Passion.  He  knew  well 
that  this  would  be  the  best  means  of  winning  our 
love,  and  exciting  sorrow  for  sin  in  our  soul.  There- 
fore,  He  designed  that  in  every  church  throughout 
the  world  an  altar  should  be  erected,  to  serve  as  a 
monument  of  His  mercies  to  His  people,  as  the  chil 
dren  of  Israel  erected  a  monument,  on  crossing  the 
Jordan,  to  commemorate  His  mercies  to  His  chosen 
people.  Hence,  the  Mass  is  truly  the  memorial  ser 
vice  of  Christ's  Passion. 

In  compliance  with  the  command  of  our  Lord,  the 
adorable  sacrifice  of  the  altar  has  been  daily  renewed 
in  the  Church,  from  the  death  of  our  Saviour  till  the 
present  time,  and  will  be  perpetuated  till  time  shall 
be  no  more. 

In  the  Acts,  it  is  said  that  while  Saul  and  others 
were  ministering  (or,  as  the  Greek  text  expresses  it, 
sacrificing)  to  the  Lord,  and  fasting,  the  Holy  Spirit 
said  to  them :  "  Set  apart  for  Me  Saul  and  Barna- 

*I.  Cor.  xi.  23-26. 


THE   SACRIFICE   OF   THE   MASS.  357 

has."  St.  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  fre 
quently  alludes  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  "  We 
have  an  altar,"  he  says,  "  whereof  they  cannot  eat 
who  serve  the  tabernacle."1  The  Apostle  here 
plainly  declares  that  the  Christian  church  has 
its  altars  as  well  as  the  Jewish  synagogue.  An 
altar  necessarily  supposes  a  sacrifice,  without  which 
it  has  no  meaning.  The  Apostle  also  observes  that 
the  priesthood  of  the  New  Law  was  substituted  for 
that  of  the  Old  Law.2  Now,  the  principal  office 
of  priests  has  always  been  to  offer  sacrifice.  Priest 
and  sacrifice  are  as  closely  identified  as  judge  and 
court. 

St.  Paul,  after  David,  calls  Jesus  "  a  priest  for- 
over  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech."8  He 
is  named  a  priest,  because  He  offers  sacrifice ;  a 
priest  forever,  because  His  sacrifice  is  perpetual ; 
according  to  ike  order  of  Melchisedech,  because  He 
offers  up  consecrated  bread  and  wine,  which  were 
prefigured  by  the  bread  and  wine  offered  by  "  Mel. 
chisedech,  the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God."4 

Tradition,  with  its  hundred  tongues,  proclaims  the 
perpetual  oblation  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  from 
the  time  of  the  Apostles  to  our  own  days.  If  we 
consult  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  who  have  stood 
like  faithful  sentinels  on  the  watch-towers  of  Israel, 
guarding  with  a  jealous  eye  the  deposit  of  faith, 
and  who  have  been  the  faithful  witnesses  of  their 

1  Heb.  xiii.  10.     2  Ibid.  vii.  12.     »  Ps.  cix.  4 ;  Heb.  v.  6. 
*  Gen.  xiv.  18. 


358  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

owu  times  and  the  recorders. of  the  past,  if  we  con. 
suit  the  General  Councils,  at  which  were  assembled 
the  venerable  hierarchy  of  Christendom,  they  will 
all  tell  us,  with  one  voice,  that  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  was  the  centre  of  their  religion,  and  the  ac 
knowledged  institution  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Another  remarkable  evidence  in  favor  of  the 
divine  institution  of  the  Mass,  is  furnished  by  the 
Nestorians  and  Eutychians  who  separated  from  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  fifth  century,  and  who  still 
exist  in  Persia,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  East,  as 
well  as  by  the  Greek  schismatics  who  severed  their 
connection  with  the  Church  in  the  ninth  century. 
All  these  sects,  as  well  as  the  numerous  other  sects 
scattered  over  the  East,  retain  to  this  day  the  obla 
tion  of  the  Mass  in  their  daily  service.  As  these 
Christian  communities  have  had  no  communication 
with  the  Catholic  Church  since  the  period  of  their 
separation  from  her,  they  could  not,  of  course,  have 
borrowed  from  her  the  doctrine  of  the  Eucharistic 
sacrifice,  and  consequently  they  must  have  received 
it  from  the  same  source  from  which  the  Church  de 
rived  it,  viz.,  from  the  Apostles  themselves. 

But  of  all  proofs  in  favor  of  the  Apostolic  ori 
gin  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  the  most  striking 
and  the  most  convincing  is  found  in  the  Liturgies 
of  the  Church.  The  Liturgy  is  the  established 
Kitual  of  the  Church.  It  is  the  collection  of  the 
authorized  prayers  of  divine  worship.  These  prayers 
are  fixed  and  immovable.  Among  others,  we  have 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE   MASS.  359 

the  Liturgy  of  Jerusalem,  ascribed  to  the  Apostle 
St.  James ;  the  Liturgy  of  Alexandria,  attributed 
to  St.  Mark  the  Evangelist,  and  the  Liturgy  of 
Rome,  referred  to  St.  Peter.  There  are  various 
other  Liturgies  accredited  to  the  Apostles  or  to 
their  immediate  successors.  Now  I  wish  to  call 
your  attention  to  this  remarkable  fact,  that  all  these 
Liturgies,  though  compiled  by  different  persons,  at 
different  times,  and  in  various  places,  and  in  divers 
languages,  contain,  without  exception,  in  clear  and 
precise  language,  the  prayers  to  be  said  at  the 
celebration  of  Mass;  prayers  in  substance  the 
same  as  those  found  in  our  Prayer-Books  at  the 
Canon  of  the  Mass. 

We  cannot  account  for  this  wonderful  uniformity 
except  by  supposing  that  the  doctrine  respecting  the 
Mass  was  received  by  the  Apostles  from  the  com 
mon  fountain  of  Christianity — Jesus  Christ  Himself. 

It  was  such  facts  as  these  that  opened  the  eyes 
of  those  eminent  English  divines  who,  during  the 
present  century,  have  abandoned  heresy  and  schism 
and  rich  preferments,  and  who  have  embraced  the 
Catholic  faith,  though,  by  taking  such  a  step,  they 
had  to  sacrifice  all  that  was  dear  to  them  on  earth. 

The  following  passages  from  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  are  sometimes  urged  as  an  argument 
against  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass :  "  Christ,  .  .  . 
neither  by  the  blood  of  goats,  or  of  calves,  but  by 
His  own  blood,  entered  once  into  the  Holies,  having 
obtained  eternal  redemption."  "  Nor  yet  that  He 


360  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

should  offer  Himself  often,  as  the  high  priest  enter- 
eth  into  the  Holies  every  year."  l  Again  :  "  Every 
priest  standeth,  indeed,  daily  ministering,  and  often 
offering  the  same  sacrifices,  which  can  never  take 
away  sins ;  but  this  Man,  offering  one  sacrifice  for 
sin,  forever  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God."2 

St.  Paul  says  that  Jesus  was  offered  once.  How 
then  can  we  offer  Him  daily?  I  answer,  that 
Jesus  was  offered  once  in  a  bloody  manner,  and  it  is 
of  this  sacrifice  that  the  Apostle  speaks.  But  in 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  He  is  offered  up  in  an  un 
bloody  manner.  Though  He  is  daily  offered  on  ten 
thousand  altars,  the  sacrifice  is  the  same  as  that  of 
Calvary,  having  the  same  High  Priest  and  victim  — 
Jesus  Christ.  The  object  of  St.  Paul  is  to  contrast 
the  sacrifice  of  the  New  Law,  which  has  only  one 
victim,  with  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Law,  where  the 
victims  were  many ;  and  to  show  the  insufficiency 
of  the  ancient  sacrifices  and  the  all-sufficiency  of 
the  sacrifice  of  the  new  dispensation. 

But  if  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross  is  all-sufficient, 
what  need  then,  you  will  say,  is  there  of  a  commemo 
rative  sacrifice  of  the  Mass?  I  would  ask  a  Prot 
estant  in  return,  Why  do  you  pray,  and  go  to  church, 
and  why  were  you  baptized,  and  receive  Communion, 
and  the  rite  of  Confirmation  ?  What  is  the  use  of 
all  these  exercises,  if  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross  is  all- 
sufficient?  You  will  tell  me  that  in  all  these  acts 

1Heb.  ix.  25.  » Ibid.  x.  11,  12. 


THE   SACRIFICE   OF   THE    MASS.  361 

you  apply  to  yourself  the  merits  of  Christ's  Passion. 
I  will  tell  you,  in  like  manner,  that  in  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  I  apply  to  myself  the  merits  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  cross,  from  which  the  Mass  derives 
•all  its  efficacy.  Christ,  indeed,  by  His  death,  made 
a  full  atonement  for  our  sins.  But  He  has  not  re 
leased  us  from  the  obligation  of  co-operating  with 
Him  by  applying  His  merits  to  our  souls.  And 
what  better  or  more  efficacious  way  can  we  have  of 
participating  in  His  merits,  than  by  assisting  at  the 
sacrifice  of  the  altar,  where  we  vividly  recall  to  mind 
His  sufferings,  where  Calvary  is  represented  before 
us,  where  "we  show  the  death  of  the  Lord  until  He 
come,"  and  where  we  draw  abundantly  to  our  souls 
the  fruit  of  His  Passion,  by  drinking  of  the  same 
blood  that  was  shed  on  the  cross? 

Iii  the  Old  Law  there  were  different  kinds  of  sacri 
fices  offered  up  for  different  purposes.  There  were 
sacrifices  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God  for  His 
benefits ;  sacrifices  of  propitiation  to  implore  His 
forgiveness  for  the  sins  of  the  people;  and  sacrifices 
of  supplication  to  ask  His  blessing  and  protection. 
The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  fulfils  all  these  ends.  It 
is  a  sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  a  sacrifice 
of  propitiation  and  of  supplication;  and  hence  that 
valued  book,  the  "Following  of  Christ"  says  that 
"  when  a  Priest  celebrates  Mass,  he  honors  God,  he 
rejoices  the  angels,  he  edifies  the  Church,  he  helps 
the  living,  he  obtains  rest  for  the  dead,  and  makes 
himself  a  partaker  of  all  that  is  good."  To  form  an 
81 


362  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

adequate  idea  of  the  efficacy  of  the  divine  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass,  we  have  only  to  bear  in  mind  the 
victim  that  is  offered  —  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God. 

1.  The  Mass  is  a  sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanks 
giving.     If  all  human  beings  in  this  world,  and  all 
living  creatures,  and  all  inanimate  objects  were  col 
lected   together  and  burned  as  a  holocaust  to  the 
Lord,  they  would  not  confer  as  much  praise  on  the 
Almighty  as  a  single  Euchai  istic  sacrifice ;  because 
these  earthly  creatures,  how  numerous  and  excellent 
soever,  are  finite  and  imperfect ;  while  the  offering 
made  in  the  Mass  is  of  infinite  value,  for,  it  is  our 
Lord  Jesus,  the  acceptable  Lamb  without  blemish, 
the  beloved  Son  in  whom  the  Father  is  well  pleased, 
and  who  "  is  always  heard  on  account  of  His  rever 
ence." 

With  what  awe  and  grateful  love  should  we  assist 
at  this  sacrifice !  The  angels  were  present  at 
Calvary.  Angels  also  are  present  at  the  Mass.  If 
we  cannot  assist  with  the  seraphic  love  and  rapt  at 
tention  of  the  angelic  spirits,  let  us  worship,  at  least, 
with  the  simple  devotion  of  the  shepherds  of  Bethle 
hem,  and  the  unswerving  faith  of  the  Magi.  Let 
us  offer  to  our  God  the  golden  gift  of  a  heart  full  of 
love,  and  the  incense  of  our  praise  and  adoration, 
repeating  often  during  the  holy  oblation  the  words 
of  the  Psalmist :  "  The  mercies  of  the  Lord  I  will 
sing  foftsver." 

2.  The   Mass  is  also  a  sacrifice  of  propitiation. 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS.  363 

Jesus  daily  pleads  our  cause,  in  this  divine  oblation, 
before  our  heavenly  Father.  "  If  any  man  sin,"  saya 
St.  John,  "  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  just;  and  He  is  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for 
those  of  the  whole  world." l  And  hence  the  Priest, 
whenever  he  offers  up  the  holy  sacrifice,  recites  this 
prayer  at  the  offertory :  "  Receive,  O  holy  Father, 
almighty,  eternal  God,  this  immaculate  victim 
which  I,  Thy  unworthy  servant,  offer  to  Thee,  my 
living  and  true  God,  for  my  innumerable  sins,  of 
fences,  and  negligences,  for  all  here  present,  and  for 
all  the  faithful  living  and  dead,  that  it  may  avail 
ine  and  them  to  life  everlasting." 

Whenever,  therefore,  we  assist  at  Mass,  let  us 
unite  with  Jesus  Christ  in  imploring  the  mercy  of 
God  for  our  sins.  Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  the 
Mass  as  another  Calvary,  which  it  is  in  reality. 
Like  Mary,  let  us  stand  in  spirit  beneath  the  cross, 
and  let  our  souls  be  pierced  with  grief  for  our  trans 
gressions.  Let  us  acknowledge  that  our  sins  were 
the  cause  of  that  agony,  and  of  the  shedding  of  that 
precious  blood.  Let  us  follow  in  mind  and  heart  that 
crowd  of  weeping  penitents  who  accompanied  our 
Saviour  to  Calvary,  striking  their  breasts,  and  let  us 
say :  "  Spare,  O  Lord,  spare  Thy  people."  Or  let  us 
repeat  with  the  Publican  this  heartfelt  prayer :  "  O 
God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  At  the  death  of 
Jesus,  the  sun  was  darkened,  the  earth  trembled, 

1  I.  John  ii.  1,  2. 


364  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

"he  very  rocks  were  rent,  as  if  to  show  that  even  in 
animate  nature  sympathized  with  the  sufferings  of 
its  God.  And  should  not  we  tremble  for  our  sins? 
Should  not  our  hearts,  though  as  cold  and  hard  as 
rocks,  be  softened  at  the  spectacle  of  our  God  suifer- 
ing  for  love  of  us,  and  in  expiation  for  our  sins  ? 

3,  The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is,  in  fine,  a  sacrifice 
of  supplication :  "  For,  if  the  blood  of  goats  and  of 
oxen,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  being  sprinkled, 
sanctify  such  as  are  defiled  to  the  cleansing  of  the 
flesh,  how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who, 
through  the  Holy  Ghost,  offered  himself  without 
spot  to  God,  cleanse  our  conscience  from  dead  works 
to  serve  the  living  God?"  l  If  the  prayers  of  Moses 
and  David  and  the  Patriarchs  were  so  powerful  in 
behalf  of  God's  servants,  what  must  be  the  influence 
of  Jesus'  intercession  ?  If  the  wounds  of  the  martyrs 
plead  so  eloquently  for  us,  how  much  more  elo 
quent  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  shed  daily  upon  our 
altars  ?  His  blood  cries  louder  for  mercy  than  the 
blood  of  Abel  cried  for  vengeance.  If  God  inclines 
His  ear  to  us  miserable  sinners,  how  can  He  resist 
the  pleadings  in  our  behalf  of  the  "  Lamb  of  God 
who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  "  ? 

"  Let  us  go  therefore,  with  confidence,  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find 
grace  in  seasonable  aid."  2 

1  Heb.  ix.  13,  14.  '  Heb.  iv.  16. 


THE   USE   OF   RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES.  365 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  USE   OF    RELIGIOUS    CEREMONIES    DICTATED    B^ 
RIGHT    REASON  —  APPROVED     BY   ALMIGHTY   GOD 

IN  THE  OLD  LAW SANCTIONED  BY  JESUS  CHRIST 

IN    THE    NEW. 

BY  religious  ceremonies,  we  mean  certain  ex 
pressive  signs  and  actions  which  the  Church 
has  ordained  for  the  worthy  celebration  of  the 
divine  service. 

True  devotion  must  be  interior  and  come  from 
the  heart ;  for,  "  the  true  adorers  shall  adore  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  For,  the  Father 
indeed  seeketh  such  to  worship  Him.  God  is  *» 
spirit ;  and  they  who  worship  Him,  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."1  But  we  are  not  to 
infer  from  this  that  exterior  worship  is  to  be  con 
temned  because  interior  worship  is  prescribed  as 
essential.  On  the  contrary,  tUe  rites  and  ceremonies 
which  are  enjoined  in  the  worship  of  God  and  in 
the  administration  of  the  Sacraments,  are  dictated 
by  right  reason,  and  are  sanctioned  by  Almighty 
God  in  the  Old  Law,  and  by  Christ  and  His  Apos 
tles  in  the  New. 

The  angels,  being  pure  spirits  without  a  body, 
render  to  God  a  purely  spiritual  worship.  The  sun 
and  moon  and  stars  of  the  firmament  pay  to  Him 

1  John  iv.  23,  24. 
31* 


366  THE    FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

a  kind  of  external  homage.  In  the  Prophet  Daniel, 
we  read  :  "  Sun  and  moon  bless  the  Lord,  .  .  .  stars 
of  heaven  bless  the  Lord,  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  forever."  l  But  man,  by  possessing  a  soul 
or  spiritual  substance,  partakes  of  the  nature  of 
angels,  and  by  possessing  a  body,  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  It  is  therefore,  his 
privilege,  as  well  as  his  duty,  to  offer  to  God  the,  two 
fold  homage  of  body  and  soul ;  in  other  words,  to 
honor  Him  by  internal  and  external  worship. 

Genuine  piety  cannot  long  be  concealed  in  the 
heart  without  manifesting  itself  by  exterior  prac 
tices  of  religion ;  and  hence,  though  interior  and 
exterior  worship  are  distinct,  they  cannot  be  sepa 
rated  in  the  present  life.  The  fire  cannot  bum 
without  sending  forth  a  flame  and  heat.  Neither 
can  the  fire  of  devotion  burn  in  the  soul  without 
reflecting  itself  on  our  countenance,  and  even  on  our 
speech.  It  is  natural  for  man  to  express  his  senti 
ments  by  signs  and  ceremonies,  for,  "from  the  ful 
ness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh."  And  as 
the  fuel  is  necessary  to  keep  alive  the  fire,  even  so 
the  flame  of  piety  is  nourished  by  the  outward  forms 
of  religion. 

The  fruit  of  a  tree  does  not  consist  in  its  bark  01 
its  leaves  and  branches.  Nevertheless,  you  never 
saw  a  tree  bearing  fruit,  unless  when  clothed  with 
bark,  adorned  with  branches,  and  covered  with 

1  Dan.  iii.  62,  63.  Though  this  passage  is  omitted  in  the  Prot 
estant  Bible,  it  is  retained  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 


THE  USE  OF   RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES.  367 

leaves.  These  are  necessary  for  the  protection  of 
the  fruit.  In  like  manner,  though  the  fruit  of  piety 
does  not  consist  in  exterior  forms,  it  must,  however, 
be  fostered  by  some  outward  observances,  or  it  will 
goon  decay.  There  is  as  close  a  relation  between 
devotion  and  ceremonial  as  exists  between  the  bark 
and  the  fruit  of  a  tree. 

The  man  who  daily  bends  the  knee  to  his  Maker, 
who  recites  or  sings  His  praises,  who  devoutly  makes 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  who  assists  without  constraint 
at  the  public  services  of  the  Church,  who  observes 
an  exterior  decorum  in  the  house  of  God,  who  gives 
to  the  needy  according  to  his  means,  and  duly 
attends  to  the  other  practices  and  ceremonies  of 
religion,  will  generally  be  one  whose  heart  is  united 
to  God,  and  who  yields  to  Him  a  ready  obedience. 
Show  me,  on  the  contrary,  a  man  who  habitually 
neglects  these  outward  observances  of  religion  and 
charity,  and  I  will  show  you  one  in  whose  soul  the 
fire  of  devotion  burns  very  faintly,  if  it  is  not  quite 
extinguished. 

The  ceremonies  of  the  Church  not  only  render  the 
divine  service  more  solemn,  but  they  also  rivet  and 
captivate  our  attention  and  lift  it  up  to  God.  Our 
mind  is  so  active,  so  volatile,  and  full  of  distractions; 
our  imagination  is  so  fickle,  that  we  have  need  of 
some  external  objects  on  which  to  fix  our  thoughts. 

Almighty  God  considered  ceremonial  so  indispen 
sable  to  interior  worship,  that  we  find  Him  in  the 
Old  Law  prescribing  in  the  most  minute  detail  the 


368  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR    FATHEB8. 

various  rites  and  ceremonies  and  ordinances  to 
be  observed  by  the  Jewish  priests  and  people  in 
their  public  worship.  What  is  the  entire  book  of 
Leviticus  but  an  elaborate  ritual  of  the  Jewish 
church? 

Our  Saviour,  though  He  came  to  establish  a  more 
spiritual  religion  than  that  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
did  not  discard  the  outward  forms  of  worship.  He 
was  accustomed  to  accompany  His  religious  acts  by 
appropriate  ceremonies. 

In  the  garden  of  Gethsemani,  "  He  fell  upon  His 
face,"1  in  humble  supplication. 

He  went  in  procession  to  Jerusalem,  accompanied 
by  a  great  multitude  who  sang  Hosauna  to  the  Son 
of  David.2 

At  the  last  Supper,  He  invoked  a  blessing  on  the 
bread  and  wine,  and  after  the  Supper  He  chanted  a 
hymn  with  His  disciples.3 

When  the  deaf  and  dumb  man  was  brought  to 
Him,  before  He  healed  him,  He  put  His  fingers 
into  his  ears,  and  touched  his  tongue  with  spittle, 
"  and,  looking  up  to  heaven,  He  groaned  and  said  : 
Ephpheta,  which  is,  Be  thou  opened."4 

When  He  imparted  the  Holy  Ghost  to  His  dis 
ciples,  He  breathed  on  them.5  And  the  same  Apos 
tles  afterwards  communicated  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
others  by  laying  hands  on  them.8 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  a  Ibid.  xxi.  8  Ibid.  xxvi. 

4  Mark  vii.  6  John  xx.  6  Acts  viii. 


THE   USE   OF   RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES.  369 

The  Apostle  St.  James  directs  that  if  any  man  is 
sick,  he  shall  call  in  the  Priest,  who  will  anoint  him 
with  oil.1 

Now  are  not  all  'hese  acts  which  I  have  just  re 
corded,  —  the  prostration  and  procession,  the  prayer 
ful  invocation,  the  chanting  of  a  hymn,  the  touching 
of  the  ears,  the  lifting  up  of  the  eyes  to  heaven,  the 
breathing  on  the  Apostles,  the  laying  on  of  hands, 
and  the  unction  of  the  sick,  —  are  not  all  these  acts 
so  many  ceremonies  serving  as  models  to  those  which 
the  Catholic  Church  employs  in  her  public  worship, 
and  in  the  administration  of  her  sacraments  ? 

The  ceremonies  now  accompanying  our  public 
worship  are,  indeed,  usually  more  gorgeous  and 
elaborate  than  those  recorded  of  our  Saviour ;  but 
it  is  quite  natural  that  the  majesty  of  ceremonial 
should  keep  pace  with  the  growth  and  development 
of  Christianity. 

But  where  shall  we  find  a  ritual  so  gorgeous  as 
that  presented  to  us  in  the  Book  of  Revelation? 
Angels  with  golden  censers  stand  before  the  throne, 
while  elders  cast  their  crowns  of  gold  before  the 
Lamb  once  slain.  Then  that  unnumbered  multitude 
of  all  nations,  tongues,  and  people,  clothed  in  white 
raiment,  bearing  palms  of  victory.  Virgins,  too, 
with  harp  and  canticle,  follow  near  the  Lamb,  sing 
ing  the  new  song  which  they  alone  can  utter.2 

How  glorious  the  pageant!  How  elaborate  in 
detail ! 

1  J  ames  v.  *  Apocalypse,  passim. 


370  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Strange  would  it  be,  if  God,  who,  in  the  dispensa 
tion  past  and  that  to  come  hereafter,  is  seen  delight 
ing  in  external  majesty,  should  have  deprived  the 
Christian  Church  (the  living  link  between  the  past 
and  the  future)  of  all  external  glory.  "  For,"  as 
St.  Paul  says,  "if  the  ministry  of  condemnation  is 
glory,  much  more  the  ministry  of  justice  abouudeth 
in  glory ." l 

It  is  true,  that  God  uttered  this  complaint  against 
the  children  of  Israel :  "  This  people  draw  near  Me 
with  their  mouth,  and  honor  Me  with  their  lips,  but 
their  heart  is  far  from  Me." 2  It  is  also  true  that 
He  was  displeased  with  their  sacrifices  and  religious 
festivals.3  But  He  blamed  them  not  because  they 
praised  Him  with  their  voice,  but  because  their 
hearts  felt  not  what  their  lips  uttered.  And  He 
rejected  their  sacrifices  because  they  were  not  ac 
companied  by  the  more  precious  sacrifice  of  a  peni 
tent  spirit. 

The  same  Lord  who  declares  that  the  true  adorer 
shall  adore  the  Father  in  spirit,  commands  also  that 
public  praise  be  given  to  Him  in  His  holy  temple : 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord,"  He  says,  "  in  His  holy 

places Praise  Him  with  sound  of  trumpet. 

Praise  Him  with  psaltery  and  harp.  Praise  Him 
with  timbrel  and  choir.  Praise  Him  with  strings 
and  organs."  * 

And  if  He  says  in  one  place :  "  Kend  your  hearts 

1 II.  Cor.  iii.  9.  a  Isaiah  xxix.  13.  8  Ibid.  i.  13. 

*  Ps.  cl. 


THE   USE  OF  RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES.  37l 

and  not  your  garments," 1  immediately  aftei  lie 
adds:  "Blow  the  trumpet  in  Sion,  sanctify  a  fast, 
call  a  solemn  assembly.  Gather  together  the  people, 

sanctify  the  Church Between  the  porch  and 

the  altar,  the  priests,  the  Lord's  ministers,  shall 
weep,  and  shall  say :  Spare,  O  Lord,  spare  Thy 
people."  2 

When  St.  Paul  says,  that  though  he  speak  with 
the  tongues  of  angels  and  of  men,  and  distribute 
all  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  deliver  his  body 
to  be  burned,  and  have  not  the  love  of  God,  it 
profiteth  him  nothing,3  he  points  out  the  necessity 
of  interior  worship.  And  when  he  says  elsewhere 
that  "  in  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bend 
of  those  that  are  in  heaven,  on  earth,  and  under  the 
earth,"  *  he  shows  us  the  duty  of  exterior  or  cere 
monial  worship. 

When  political  leaders  desire  to  influence  the 
masses  in  their  favor,  they  are  not  content  with  ad 
dressing  themselves  to  the  intellect.  They  appeal 
also  to  the  feelings  and  imagination.  They  have 
torchlight  processions,  accompanied  by  soul-stirring 
music  discoursing  popular  airs.  They  have  flags 
and  banners  floating  in  the  breeze.  They  have 
public  meetings,  at  which  they  deliver  patriotic 
speeches  to  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people. 

What  these  men  do  for  political  reasons,  the 
Church  performs  from  the  higher  motives  of  religion. 

1  Joel  ii.  13.  » Ibid.  ii.  15-17.  I.  Cor.  xiii. 

*  Phil.  ii.  10. 


372  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

Therefore  she  has  her  solemn  processions.  She  ha* 
her  heavenly  music  to  soften  the  heart  and  raise 
it  to  God.  She  consecrates  her  sacred  banners, 
especially  the  cross,  the  banner  of  salvation.  She 
preaches  with  a  hundred  tongues,  speaking  not  only 
to  our  heads  and  hearts  by  the  Word  of  God,  bat 
to  our  feelings  and  imagination  by  her  grand  and 
imposing  ceremonial. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CEREMONIES    OF    THE    MASS  —  THE    MISSAL  — 

LANGUAGE  —  LIGHTS  —  FLOWERS  —  INCENSE  — 
VESTMENTS. 

LET  us  now,  dear  reader,  walk  together  into  a 
Catholic  Church,  in  time  to  assist  at  the  late 
Mass,  which  is  the  most  solemn  service  of  the  Cath 
olic  Liturgy.  Meantime,  I  shall  endeavor  to  ex 
plain  to  you  the  principal  objects  which  attract 
your  attention. 

As  we  enter,  I  dip  my  fingers  in  a  vase  placed  at 
the  church  door,  and  filled  with  holy  water,  and  I 
make  the  sign  of  the  cr*)ss,  praying  at  the  same 
time  to  be  purified  from  all  defilement,  so  that  with 
a  clean  heart  I  may  worship  in  God's  holy  temple. 

The  Church,  through  her  ministers,  blesses  every 
thing  used  in  her  service ;  for,  St.  Paul  says,  that 
"  eirery  creature  of  God  is  good,  .  .  .  that  is  received 


ETC.  373 

with  thanksgiving,  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word 
of  God  and  by  prayer."1 

Before  Mass  begins,  the  priest  sprinkles  the 
assembled  congregation  with  holy  water,  reciting 
at  the  same  time  these  words  of  the  fiftieth  Psalm : 
"  Thou  shalt  sprinkle  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall 
be  cleansed;  Thou  shalt  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be 
made  whiter  than  snow." 

The  practice  of  using  blessed  water  dates  back  to 
a  very  remote  antiquity,  and  is  alluded  to  by  several 
Fathers  of  the  primitive  Church. 

As  we  advance  down  the  aisle,  you  observe  lying 
open  on  the  altar  a  large  book,  which  is  called 
a  Missal,  or  Mass-book,  because  it  contains  the 
prayers  which  are  said  at  Mass.  The  office  of  the 
Mass  consists  of  selections  from  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testament,  the  Canon,  and  other  appropriate  prayers. 
The  Canon  of  the  Mass  never  varies  throughout  the 
year,  and  descends  to  us  from  the  first  ages  of  the 
Church  with  scarcely  the  addition  of  a  word. 
Nearly  all  the  collects  are  also  very  old,  many  of 
them  dating  back  to  a  period  prior  to  the  seventh 
century.  I  am  acquainted  with  no  prayers  which 
can  compare  with  the  collects  of  the  Missal  in 
earnestness  and  vigor  of  language,  in  conciseness 
of  style,  and  unction  of  piety.  It  is  evident  that 
their  authors  were  men  who  felt  what  they  said, 
and  were  filled  with  the  spirit  of  God,  despising 
"the  persuasive  words  of  human  wisdom,"  unlika 

1 1  Tim.  iv.  4. 
32 


374  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

so  many  modern  prayer-composers  whose  rounded 
periods  are  directed  rather  to  tickle  the  ears  of  men 
than  to  pierce  the  clouds. 

You  are  probably  familiar  with  the  Episcopal 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  have  no  doubt  admired 
its  beautiful  simplicity  of  diction.  But  perhaps  you 
will  be  surprised  when  I  inform  you  that  this 
Prayer-Book  is  for  the  most  part  a  translation 
from  our  Missal. 

Let  us  now  reverently  follow  the  officiating  Priest 
through  the  service  of  the  Mass. 

You  see  him  advance  from  the  Sacristy  and  stand 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  where  he  makes  an  humble 
confession  of  his  sins  to  God  and  His  saints.  He 
then  ascends  the  altar,  and  nine  times  the  divine 
clemency  is  invoked  in  the  Kyrie  Eleison,  Christe 
Eleison.  He  intones  the  sublime  doxology,  Gloria 
in  Excelsis  Deo ;  sings  the  collects  of  the  day,  reads 
the  Lesson  or  Epistle,  chants  the  Gospel,  when  the 
sermon  is  usually  preached.  Next,  he  recites  the 
Nicene  Creed,  which  for  upwards  of  fifteen  centuries 
has  been  resounding  in  the  churches  of  Christen 
dom.  Then  you  perceive  him  making  the  oblation 
of  the  bread  and  wine.  He  washes  the  tips  of  hia 
fingers,  reciting  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :  "  I  will 
wash  my  hands  among  the  innocent,  and  will  en 
compass  Thy  altar,  O  Lord."  He  is  admonished,  by 
this  ceremony,  to  be  free  from  the  least  stain,  JD 
view  of  the  sacred  act  he  is  going  to  perform.  The 
Preface  and  Canon  follow,  including  the  solemn 


CEREMONIES,   ETC.  375 

words  of  consecration,  during  which  the  bread  and 
wine  are  changed  by  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  into 
His  body  and  blood.  He  proceeds  with  other 
prayers,  including  the  best  of  all  prayers,  the  Out 
Father,  as  far  as  the  Communion,  when  he  partakes 
of  the  consecrated  bread  and  chalice,  giving  the 
Holy  Communion  afterwards  to  such  as  are  pre 
pared  to  receive  it.  He  continues  the  Mass,  gives 
his  blessing  to  the  kneeling  congregation,  and  con 
cludes  with  the  opening  words  of  the  sublime  Gos 
pel  of  St.  John. 

Here  you  have  not  merely  a  number  of  prayers 
strung  together.  But  you  witness  a  scene  which 
rivets  pious  attention  and  warms  the  heart  into  fer 
vent  devotion.  You  participate  in  an  act  of  wor 
ship  worthy  of  God,  to  whom  it  is  offered. 

But  you  are  anxious  that  I  should  explain  to  you 
the  reason  why  the  Mass  is  said  in  Latin.  When 
Christianity  was  first  established,  the  Roman  Em 
pire  ruled  the  destinies  of  the  world.  Pagan  Rome 
had  dominion  over  nearly  all  Europe  and  large 
portions  of  Asia  and  Africa.  The  Latin  was  the 
language  of  the  Empire.  Wherever  the  Roman 
standard  was  planted,  there  also  was  spread  the 
Latin  tongue;  just  as  at  the  present  time  the  Eng 
lish  language  is  spoken  wherever  the  authority  of 
Great  Britain  or  of  the  United  States  is  established. 

The  Church  naturally  adopted  in  her  Liturgy  or 
public  worship  the  language  which  she  then  found 
prevailing  among  the  people.  The  Fathers  of  the 


376  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

early  Church  generally  wrote  in  the  Latin  tongue, 
which  thus  became  the  depository  of  the  treasures 
of  sacred  literature  in  the  Church. 

lu  the  fifth  century  came  the  dismption  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  New  kingdoms  began  to  be  formed 
in  Europe  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  empire.  The 
.Latin  gradually  ceased  to  be  a  living  tongue  among 
the  people,  and  new  languages  commenced  to  spring 
up  like  so  many  shoots  from  the  parent  stock.  The 
Church,  however,  retained  in  her  Liturgy,  and  in  the 
administration  of  the  Sacraments,  the  Latin  lan 
guage  for  very  wise  reasons,  some  of  which  I  shall 
briefly  mention  : 

1.  The  Catholic  Church  has  always  one  and  the 
same  faith,  the  same  form  of  public  worship,  the 
same  spiritual  government  As  her  doctrine  and 
liturgy  are  unchangeable,  she  wishes  that  the  lan 
guage  of  her  Liturgy  should  be  fixed  and  uniform. 
Faith  may  be  called  the  jewel,  and  the  language  is 
the  casket  which  contains  it.  So  careful  is  the 
Church  of  preserving  the  jewel  intact,  that  she  will 
not  disturb  even  the  casket  in  which  the  jewel  is  set. 
Living  tongues,  unlike  a  dead  language,  are  con 
tinually  changing  in  words  and  in  their  meaning. 
The  English  language,  as  written  four  centuries 
ago,  would  be  now  almost  as  unintelligible  to  an 
English  reader  as  the  Latin  tongue.  In  an  old 
Bible  published  in  the  fourteenth  century,  St.  Paul 
calls  himself  the  villain  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  word 
villain  in  those  days  meant  a  servant,  but  the  term 


CEREMONIES,    ETC.  377 

would  not  be  complimentary  now  to  one  even  less 
holy  than  the  Apostle.  This  is  but  one  instance,  out 
of  many  which  I  might  adduce,  to  show  the  muta 
tions  which  our  language  has  undergone.  But  the 
La  tin }  being  a  dead  language,  is  not  liable  to  these 
changes. 

2.  The  Catholic  Church  is  spread  over  the  whole 
world,  embracing  in  its  fold  children  of  all  climea 
and  nations,  and  peoples  and  tongues  under  the  sun. 
How,  I  ask,  could  the  Bishops  of  these  various 
countries  communicate  with  each  other  in  council,  if 
they  had  not  one  language  to  serve  as  a  common 
medium  of  communication?  It  would  be  simply 
impossible.  A  church  that  is  universal  must  have 
a  universal  tongue;  whilst  a  national  church,  or  a 
church  whose  members  speak  one  and  the  same  lan 
guage,  and  whose  doctrines  conveniently  change  to 
suit  the  times,  can  safely  adopt  the  vernacular 
tongue  in  its  liturgy. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  Convocation  was  held  in  Eng 
land  composed  of  British  and  American  Episcopal 
bishops.  They  had  no  difficulty  in  communicating 
with  one  another,  because  they  all  spoke  their 
mother  tongue.  But  suppose  they  had  representa 
tives  from  Spain,  France,  and  Germany.  The  lipa 
of  those  Continental  bishops  would  be  sealed,  be- 
cauce  they  could  not  speak  to  their  English  brothers; 
their  ears  would  be  also  sealed,  because  they  could 
not  comprehend  what  was  said  to  them. 

In  1869,  at  the  Ecumenical  Council  of  the  Vatican, 
32* 


378  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

were  assembled  Bishops  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
speaking  all  the  civilized  languages  of  Christendom. 
Had  those  Bishops  no  uniform  language  to  express 
their  thoughts,  public  debates  and  familiar  conver 
sation  among  them  would  have  been  impracticable. 
The  Council  Chamber  would  have  been  a  perfect 
Babel  of  tongues.  But,  thanks  to  the  Latin  lan 
guage  which  they  all  spoke  (except  a  few  Orientals), 
their  speeches  were  as  plainly  understood  as  if  each 
had  spoken  in  his  native  dialect. 

3.  Moreover,  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  of  the  Catho 
lic  Church  are  in  frequent  correspondence  with  the 
Holy  See.  This  requires  that  they  should  com 
municate  in  one  uniform  language ;  otherwise,  the 
Pope  would  be  compelled  to  employ  secretaries 
speaking  every  language  in  Christendom. 

But  if  the  priest  says  Mass  in  an  unknown  tongue, 
are  not  the  people  thereby  kept  in  ignorance  of  what 
he  says,  and  is  not  their  time  wasted  in  Church? 
We  are  forced  to  smile  at  such  charges,  which  are 
flippantly  repeated  from  year  to  year.  These  asser 
tions  arise  from  a  total  ignorance  of  the  Mass. 
Many  Protestants  imagine  that  the  essence  of  public 
worship  consists  in  a  sermon.  Hence,  to  their  minds, 
the  primary  duty  of  a  congregation  is  to  listen  to  a 
discourse  from  the  pulpit.  Prayer,  on  the  contrary, 
according  to  Catholic  teaching,  is  the  most  essential 
duty  of  a  congregation,  though  they  are  also  regu 
larly  instructed  by  sermons.  Now,  what  is  the  Mass? 
It  is  not  a  sermon,  but  it  is  a  sacrifice  of  prayer 


CEREMONIES,    ETC.  37S 

which  the  priest  offers  up  to  God  for  himself  and  the 
people.  When  the  priest  says  Mass,  he  is  speaking 
not  to  the  people,  but  to  God,  to  whom  all  languages 
are  equally  intelligible. 

The  congregation,  indeed,  could  not  be  expected 
to  hear  the  priest,  even  if  he  spoke  in  English,  since 
his  face  is  turned  from  them,  and  the  greater  part 
of  what  he  says  is  pronounced  in  an  undertone. 
And  this  was  the  system  of  worship  God  ordained 
in  the  ancient  dispensation,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Old  Testament,  and  from  the  first  chapter  of  St. 
Luke.  The  priest  offered  sacrifice,  and  prayed  for 
the  people  in  the  sanctuary,  while  they  prayed  at  a 
distance  in  the  court.  In  all  the  schismatic  churches 
of  the  East,  the  priest,  in  the  public  services,  prays 
not  in  the  vulgar,  but  in  a  dead  language.  Such, 
also,  is  the  practice  in  the  Jewish  synagogues  at  this 
day.  The  Rabbi  reads  the  prayers  in  Hebrew,  a 
language  with  which  many  of  the  congregation  are 
not  familiar. 

But  is  it  true  that  the  people  do  not  understand 
what  the  priest  says  at  Mass  ?  Not  at  all.  For,  by 
the  aid  of  an  English  Missal,  or  any  other  Manual, 
they  are  able  to  follow  the  officiating  clergyman 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  service. 

You  also  observe  lighted  tapers  on  the  altar,  and 
you  desire  to  know  for  what  purpose  they  are 
used. 

In  the  Old  Law,  the  Almighty  Himself  ordained 
that  lighted  chandeliers  should  adorn  the  taber- 


380  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

nacle.1  Assuredly  that  cannot  be  improper  in  the 
ftew  Dispensation  which  God  sanctioned  in  the 
Old. 

The  lights  upon  our  altars  have  both  a  historical 
and  a  symbolical  meaning.  In  the  primitive  daya 
of  the  Church,  Christianity  was  not  tolerated  by  the 
Pagan  world  The  Christians  were  consequently 
obliged  to  assemble,  for  public  worship,  in  the  Cata 
combs  of  Rome,  and  other  secret  places.  These 
Catacombs,  or  subterranean  rooms,  still  exist,  and 
are  objects  of  deep  interest  to  the  pious  strangers 
that  visit  the  Eternal  city.  As  these  hidden  apart 
ments  did  not  admit  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  faith 
ful  were  obliged  to  have  lights  even  in  the  open 
day.  In  commemoration  of  the  event,  the  Church 
has  retained  the  use  of  lights  on  her  altars. 

These  lighted  candles  have  also  a  symbolical 
meaning.  They  represent  our  Saviour,  who  is  "  the 
light  of  the  world,"  "  who  enlighteneth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world,"  without  whom  we 
should  be  wandering  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow 
of  death. 

They  also  serve  to  remind  us  to  "  let  our  light  so 
shine  before  men  (by  our  good  example),  that  they 
may  see  our  good  works,  and  glorify  our  Father 
who  is  in  heaven." 

Lights  are  used,  too,  as  a  sign  of  spiritual  joy.  St. 
Jerome,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  remarks : 

1  Exod.  xxv.  31,  and  seq. 


CEREMONIES,    ETC.  3£1 

"  Throughout  all  the  Churches  of  the  East,  before 
the  reading  of  the  Gospel,  candles  are  lighted  at 
mid-day,  not  to  dispel  darkness,  but  as  a  sign  of 

joy."  ' 

You  also  noticed  the  priest  incensing  the  altar. 
Incense  is  a  striking  emblem  of  prayer,  which  should 
ascend  to  heaven  from  hearts  burning  with  love,  just 
as  the  fragrant  smoke  ascends  from  the  censer. 
"  Let  my  prayer,"  says  the  Royal  Prophet,  "  ascend 
like  incense  in  Thy  sight."  l  God  enjoined  in  the 
Old  Law  the  use  of  incense :  "  Aaron  shall  burn 
sweet-smelling  incense  upon  the  altar  in  the  morn 
ing."  2  Hence  we  see  the  priest  Zachariah  "  offer 
incense  on  going  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  And 
all  the  multitude  were  praying  without  at  the  hour 
of  incense."3 

You  perceive  that  the  altar  is  decorated  to-day 
with  vases  and  flowers,  because  this  is  a  Festival  of 
the  Church.  There  is  one  spot  on  earth  which  can 
never  be  too  richly  adorned,  and  that  is  the  sanc 
tuary  in  which  our  Lord  vouchsafes  to  dwell  among 
us.  Nothing  is  too  good,  nothing  too  beautiful, 
nothing  too  precious  for  God.  He  gives  us  all  we 
possess,  and  the  least  we  can  do  in  return  is  to  orna 
ment  that  spot  which  He  has  chosen  for  His  abode 
upon  earth.  The  Almighty,  it  is  true,  has  no  need 
of  our  gifts.  He  is  rich  without  them.  "  The  earth 
is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof."  Neverthe 
less,  He  is  pleased  to  accept  our  offerings  when  they 

1  PB.  cxl.  2  Exod.  xxx.  7.  8  Luke  i.  9,  10. 


382  THE    FAITH   OF   OUB,   FATHERS. 

are  bestowed  upon  Him  as  a  mark  of  our  affection! 
just  as  a  father  joyfully  receives  from  his  child  a 
present  bought  with  his  own  means.  Our  Saviour 
gratefully  accepted  the  treasures  of  the  Magi,  though 
he  could  have  done  without  such  gifts.  Some  per 
sons,  when  they  see  our  sanctuary  sumptuously 
decorated,  will  exclaim :  Had  it  not  been  better  to 
give  to  the  poor  the  money  spent  in  purchasing 
these  things?  So  complained  Judas  (though  caring 
not  for  the  poor1)  when  Mary  poured  from  an 
alabaster  vase  the  precious  ointment  on  the  feet 
of  an  approving  Saviour.  Why  should  not  we 
imitate  Mary,  by  placing  at  His  feet,  around  His 
sanctuary,  our  vases  with  their  chaste  and  fragrant 
flowers,  that  the  Church  may  be  filled  with  their 
perfume,  as  Simon's  house  was  filled  with  the  odor 
of  the  ointment? 

Does  not  the  Almighty  at  certain  seasons  adorn 
with  lilies  and  flowers  of  every  hue  this  earth,  which 
is  the  great  temple  of  nature  ?  And  what  is  more 
appropriate  than  that  we  should  on  special  occasions 
embellish  our  sanctuary,  the  place  which  He  has 
chosen  for  His  habitation  among  us  ?  It  is  sweet  to 
snatch  from  the  field  its  fairest  treasures  wherewith  to 
beautify  the  temple  made  with  hands. 

The  sacred  vestments  which  you  saw  worn  by  the 
officiating  priest,  must  have  struck  you  as  very  an 
tique  and  out  of  fashion.  Nor  is  this  surprising; 
for  if  you  saw  a  lady  enter  church,  to-day,  with  a 

1  John  xii.  6. 


CEREMONIES,   ETC.  383 

head-dress  such  as  was  worn  in  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  her  appearance  would  look  to  you  very 
singular.  Now,  our  priestly  vestments  are  far  older 
in  style  than  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth ;  much 
older  even  than  the  British  Empire.  Eusebius,  and 
other  writers  of  the  fourth  century,  speak  of  them 
as  already  existing  in  their  times.  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  these  vestments  look  odd  to  the  un 
familiar  eye. 

In  the  Old  Law,  God  prescribed  to  the  priests  the 
sacred  vestments  which  they  should  wear  while  en 
gaged  in  their  sacred  office :  "  And  these  shall  be 
the  vestments  which  they  shall  make  (for  the  priest) : 
a  rational  and  an  ephod,  a  tunic  and  a  straight  linen 
garment,  a  mitre  and  a  girdle.  They  shall  make 
the  holy  vestments  for  thy  brother  Aaron  and  his 
sons,  that  they  may  do  the  office  of  priesthood  unto 
Me."1  Guided  by  Heaven,  the  Church  also  pre 
scribes  sacred  garments  for  her  ministering  priests. 
For,  it  is  eminently  proper  and  becoming  that  the 
minister  of  God,  while  engaged  in  the  sacred  mys 
teries,  should  be  arrayed  in  garments  which  would 
constantly  impress  upon  him  his  sacred  character, 
and  remind  him,  as  well  as  the  congregation,  of  the 
sublime  functions  he  is  performing. 

The  vestments  worn  by  the  priest  while  celebrat 
ing  Mass  are,  an  Amict,  or  white  cloth  around  the 
neck;  an  Alb,  or  white  garment  reaching  to  his 
ankles,  and  bound  around  his  waist  by  a  cincture ; 

1  Exod.  xxviii.  4. 


384  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

a  Maniple  suspended  from  his  left  arm ;  a  Stole, 
which  is  placed  over  his  shoulders  and  crossed  at 
the  breast ;  and  a  Chasuble,  or  large  outer  garment. 

The  Chasuble,  Stole,  arid  Maniple  vary  in  coloi 
according  to  the  occasion.  Thus,  White  vestments 
are  used  at  Christmas,  Kaster,  and  other  Festivals  of 
joy,  also  on  Feasts  of  Confessors  and  Virgins ;  Red 
are  used  at  Pentecost,  and  on  Festivals  of  Apostles 
and  Martyrs ;  Green,  from  Trinity  Sunday  to  Ad 
vent,  on  days  having  no  special  feast;  Purple,  during 
Lent  and  Advent;  and  Black,  in  Masses  for  the  dead 

One  more  word  on  this  subject.  Only  a  few  years 
ago,  the  whole  Protestant  world  was  united  in  de 
nouncing  the  use  of  floral  decorations  on  our  altars, 
incense,  sacred  vestments,  and  even  the  altar  itself, 
as  abominations  of  Popery.  But  of  late,  a  better 
spirit  has  taken  possession  of  a  respectable  portion 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  After  having 
exhausted  their  wrath  against  our  vestments,  and 
vilified  them  as  the  rags  of  the  wicked  woman  of 
Babylon,  the  members  of  the  Ritualistic  church 
have,  with  remarkable  dexterity,  passed  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other.  They  don  our  vestments; 
they  swing  our  censer,  and  erect  altars  in  their 
churches,  and  adorn  them  with  flowers  and  candle 
sticks. 

These  Eitualists  are,  however,  easily  discerned 
from  the  true  priest,  and  should  one  of  them  ever 
appear  before  the  Father  of  the  faithful  in  these  ill- 
fitting  robes,  the  venerable  Pontiff  would  exclaim, 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  385 

with  the  Patriarch  of  old  :  "  The  voice  indeed  is  the 
voice  of  Jacob,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of 
Esau."  I  feel  the  garment  of  the  Priest,  but  I  hear 
the  voice  of  the  parson. 

God  grant  that,  as  our  misguided  brothers  have 
assumed  our  sacerdotal  garments,  they  may  adopt 
our  faith,  so  that  their  speech  may  conform  to  their 
dress.  And  then  having  laid  aside  their  earthly 
stoles,  may  they  deserve,  like  all  faithful  priests,  to 
be  seen  "  standing  before  the  throne,  and  in  sight  of 
the  Lamb,  with  white  stoles  arid  palms  in  their  hands, 
.  „  .  saying :  Salvation  to  our  God,  who  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb."  l 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  8ACRA3IENT   OF   PENANCE. 

I. 

DIVINE  INSTITUTION  OF  THE  SACKAMENT  OP  PENANCE 
—  THE  POWER  OF  FOBGIVINO  SINS  LEFT  BY  CHRIST  TO 
HIS  CHURCH  —  THE  NECESSITY  AND  ADVANTAGES  OF 
CONFESSION. 

THE  whole  history  of  Jesus  Christ  is  marked  by 
mercy  and  compassion  for  suffering  humanity. 
From  the  moment  of  His  incarnation  till  the  hour 

1  Apoc.  vii.  9,  10. 
33  Z 


886  THE   FAITH   OF  OTTE  FATHERS. 

of  His  death,  every  thought  and  word  and  act  of 
His  divine  life  was  directed  towards  the  alleviation 
of  the  ills  and  miseries  of  fallen  man. 

As  soon  as  He  enters  on  His  public  career,  He 
goes  about  doing  good  to  all  men.  He  gives  sight 
to  the  blind,  and  hearing  to  the  deaf,  and  vigor  to 
the  paralyzed  limbs ;  He  applies  the  salve  of  com 
fort  to  the  bleeding  heart  and  raises  the  dead  to 
life. 

But  while  Jesus  occupied  Himself  in  bringing 
relief  to  corporal  infirmities,  the  principal  object  of 
His  mission  was  to  release  the  soul  from  the  bonds  of 
sin.  The  very  name  of  Jesus  indicates  this  import 
ant  truth  :  "  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,"  says 
the  angel,  "  for  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their 
sins."1 

For,  if  Jesus  had  contented  Himself  with  healing 
the  maladies  of  our  body,  without  attending  to  those 
of  our  soul,  He  would  deserve  indeed  to  be  called 
our  Physician,  but  would  not  merit  the  more  en 
dearing  titles  of  Saviour  and  Eedeemer.  But  as 
sin  was  the  greatest  evil  of  man,  and  as  Jesus 
came  to  remove  from  us  our  greatest  evils.  He 
came  into  the  world  chiefly  as  the  great  Absolver 
from  sin. 

Magdalen  seems  to  have  a  consciousness  of  this ; 
she  casts  herself  at  His  feet,  which  she  washes  with 
her  tears  and  wipes  with  her  hair,  while  Jesus  pro- 

1  Matt.  i.  21. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  PENANCE.  387 

nounces  over  her  the  saving  words  of  absolution. 
The  very  demons  recognized  Jesus  as  the  enemy  of 
sin,  for  they  dreaded  His  approach,  knowing,  as 
they  did,  that  He  would  drive  them  out  of  the 
bodies  of  men. 

And  indeed  our  Lord  makes  the  healing  of  the 
body  secondary  to  the  healing  of  the  soul.  And 
when  He  delivers  the  body  from  its  distempers, 
His  object  is  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  spectators 
by  compelling  them  to  recognize  Him  as  the  soul's 
Physician.  For  instance:  He  says  to  the  palsied 
man,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven."1  The  scribes  are  at 
once  offended  at  our  Saviour  for  presuming  to  for 
give  sins.  He  replies,  in  substance :  If  you  do  not 
believe  My  words,  believe  My  acts ;  and  He  at  once 
heals  the  man  of  his  disease.  And  after  he  had 
cured  the  man  that  had  been  languishing  for  thirty- 
eight  years,  He  whispered  to  him  this  gentle  ad 
monition,  "  Sin  no  more,  lest  some  worse  thing  may 
happen  to  thee." 2 

As  much  as  our  spiritual  substance  excels  this 
flesh  which  surrounds  it,  so  much  more  did  our 
Saviour  value  the  resurrection  of  a  soul  from  the 
grave  of  sin  than  the  resurrection  of  the  body  from 
the  grave  of  death.  Hence  St.  Augustine  pointedly 
remarks  that,  while  the  Gospel  relates  only  three 
resurrections  of  the  body,  our  Lord,  during  His 
mortal  life,  raised  thousands  of  souls  to  the  life  of 
grace. 

1  Matt  Lr.  2.  *  John  v.  14 


388  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

As  the  Church  was  established  by  Jesus  Christ 
to  perpetuate  the  work  which  he  had  begun,  it  fol 
lows  that  the  reconciliation  of  sinners  to  God  was  to 
be  the  principal  office  of  the  Church. 

But  the  important  question  here  presents  itself: 
How  was  man  to  obtain  forgiveness  in  the  Church 
after  our  Lord's  ascension  ? 

Was  Jesus  Christ  to  appear  in  person  to  every 
sinful  soul,  and  say  to  each  penitent,  as  He  said  to 
Magdalen,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee?"  or  did  He 
intend  to  delegate  this  power  of  forgiving  sins  to 
ministers  appointed  for  that  purpose  ? 

We  know  well  that  our  Saviour  never  promised 
to  present  Himself  visibly  to  each  sinner,  nor  has 
He  done  so. 

His  plan,  therefore,  must  have  been  to  appoint 
ministers  of  reconciliation  to  act  in  His  name.  It 
has  always  indeed  been  the  practice  of  Almighty 
God,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Law,  to  empower 
human  agents  to  execute  His  merciful  designs. 

When  Jehovah  resolved  to  deliver  the  children 
of  Israel  from  the  captivity  of  Egypt,  He  appointed 
Moses  as  their  deliverer.  When  God  wished  them 
to  escape  from  the  pursuit  of  Pharaoh,  across  the 
Red  Sea,  did  He  intervene  directly  ?  No ;  but,  by 
His  instructions,  Moses  raised  his  hand  over  the 
waters  and  they  were  instantly  divided. 

When  the  people  were  dying  from  thirst  in  the 
desert,  did  God  come  visibly  to  their  rescue?  No  ; 
but  Moses  struck  the  rock,  from  which  the  water 


THE   SACKAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  389 

instantly  issued.  When  Paul  was  going  to  Damas 
cus,  breathing  vengeance  against  the  Christians,  did 
our  Saviour  personally  restore  his  sight,  and  convert 
and  baptize  him  ?  No ;  He  sent  Paul  to  His  servant 
Ananias,  who  restored  his  sight  and  baptized  him. 

The  same  Apostle,  in  one  sentence,  beautifully 
describes  to  us,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the 
arrangement  of  divine  Providence  in  the  reconcilia 
tion  of  sinners :  "  God,"  he  says,  "  hath  reconciled 
us  to  Himself  through  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us 
the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  .  .  .  For  Christ,  there 
fore,  we  are  ambassadors  ;  God,  as  it  were,  exhorting 
through  us." *  That  is  to  say,  God  sends  Christ  to 
reconcile  sinners:  Christ  sends  us.  We  are  His 
ambassadors,  reconciling  sinners  in  His  name. 

When  I  think  of  this  tremendous  power  which  we 
possess,  I  congratulate  the  members  of  the  Church, 
for  whose  benefit  it  is  conferred ;  I  tremble  for  my 
self  and  my  fellow-ministers,  for  terrible  is  our  re 
sponsibility,  while  we  have  nothing  to  glory  in. 
Christ  is  the  treasure ;  we  are  but  the  pack-horses 
that  carry  it.  "  We  bear  this  treasure  in  earthen 
vessels."  Christ  is  the  shepherd;  we  are  the  pipe 
He  uses  to  call  His  sheep.  Our  words  sounding  in 
the  confessional  are  but  the  feeble  echo  of -the  voice 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  purified  the  Apostles  in  the 
cenacle  of  Jerusalem. 

But  have  we  any  Gospel  authority  to  show  that 

1 II.  Cor.  v.  18-20. 
33* 


390  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

our  Saviour  did  confer  on  the  Apostles,  and  their 
successors,  the  power  to  forgive  sins  ? 

We  have  the  most  positive  testimony,  and  our 
Saviour's  words  conferring  this  power  are  expressed 
in  the  plainest  language,  which  admits  of  no  mis 
conception.  In  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  our 
Saviour  thus  addresses  Peter :  "  Thou  art  Peter, 
and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church.  .  .  . 
And  I  will  give  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth 
shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven." ' 

And  to  all  the  Apostles  assembled  together  on 
another  occasion,  He  uses  the  same  forcible  lan 
guage :  "  Whatsoever  you  shall  bind  on  earth  shall 
be  bound  also  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  you  shall 
loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  '  also  in  heaven." a 
The  soul  is  enchained  by  sin.  I  give  you  power, 
says  our  Lord,  to  release  the  penitent  soul  from  its 
galling  fetters,  and  to  restore  it  to  the  liberty  of  a 
child  of  God. 

And  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  we  have  a  still 
more  striking  declaration  of  the  absolving  power 
given  by  our  Saviour  to  His  Apostles. 

Jesus,  after  His  resurrection,  thus  addresses  His 
disciples:  "  Peace  be  to  you.  As  the  Father  hath 
sent  Me,  I  also  send  you.  .  .  .  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost;  whose  sins  ye  shall  forgive,  they  are  for 

1Matt.  xvi.  18,  19.  'Matt,  xviii.  18. ' 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  391 

given  them,  and  whose  sins  ye  shall  retain,  they 
are  retained." l 

That  peace  which  I  give  to  you,  you  will  impart 
to  repentant  souls,  as  a  pledge  of  their  reconciliation 
with  God.  The  absolving  power  I  have  from  My 
Father,  the  same  I  communicate  to  you.  Receive 
the  Holy  Ghost,  that  you  may  impart  this  Holy 
Spirit  to  souls  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  evil.  "  If 
their  sins  are  as  red  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  made 
as  white  as  wool."  If  they  are  as  numerous  as  the 
sands  on  the  sea-shore,  they  shall  be  blotted  out, 
provided  they  come  to  you  with  contrite  hearts. 
The  sentence  of  mercy  which  you  shall  pronounce 
on  earth,  I  will  ratify  in  heaven.  From  these 
words  of  St.  John  I  draw  three  important  conclu 
sions  : 

It  follows,  first,  that  the  forgiving  power  was  not 
restricted  to  the  Apostles,  but  extended  to  their 
successors  in  the  ministry,  unto  all  times  and  places. 
The  forgiveness  of  sin  was  to  continue  while  sin 
lasted  in  the  world ;  and  as  sin,  alas !  will  always 
be  in  the  world,  so  will  the  remedy  for  sin  be  always 
in  the  Church.  The  medicine  will  co-exist  with  the 
disease.  The  power  which  our  Lord  gave  the 
Apostles  to  preach,  to  baptize,  to  confirm,  to  ordain, 
etc.,  was  transmitted  by  them  to  their  successors. 
Why  not  also  the  power  which  they  had  received  to 
forgive  sins,  since  man's  greatest  need  is  his  recon 
ciliation  with  God  by  the  forgiveness  of  his  offences? 

SlJohn  xx.  21-23. 


392  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

It  follows,  secondly,  that  forgiveness  of  sin  was 
ordinarily  to  be  obtained  only  through  the  ministry 
of  the  Apostles  and  their  successors,  just  as  it  was 
from  them  that  the  people  were  to  receive  the  word 
of  God  and  the  grace  of  Baptism.  The  pardoning 
power  was  a  great  prerogative  conferred  on  the 
Apostles.  But  what  kind  of  a  prerogative  would 
it  be,  if  people  could  always  obtain  forgiveness  by 
confessing  to  God  secretly  in  their  rooms?  How 
few  would  have  recourse  to  the  Apostles  if  they 
could  obtain  forgiveness  on  easier  terms.  God 
says  to  His  chosen  ministers :  I  give  you  the  keys 
of  My  kingdom,  that  you  may  dispense  the  treas 
ures  of  mercy  to  repenting  sinners.  But  of  what 
use  would  it  be  to  give  the  Apostles  the  keys  of 
God's  treasures  for  the  ransom  of  sinners,  if  every 
sinner  could  obtain  his  ransom  without  applying  to 
the  Apostles  ?  If  I  gave  you,  dear  reader,  the  keys 
of  my  house,  authorizing  you  to  admit  whom  you 
please,  that  they  might  partake  of  the  good  things 
contained  in  it,  you  would  conclude  that  I  had  done 
you  a  small  favor,  if  you  discovered  that  every  one 
was  possessed  of  a  private  key,  and  could  enter  when 
he  pleased,  without  consulting  you. 

I  have  said  that  forgiveness  of  sins  is  ordinarily 
to  be  obtained  through  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles 
and  of  their  successors,  because  it  may  often  happen 
that  the  services  of  God's  minister  cannot  be  obtained. 
A  merciful  Lord  will  not  require  in  this  conjunc 
ture  more  than  a  hearty  sorrow  for  sin  joined  with 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  393 

a  desire  of  having  recourse,  as  soon  as  practicable, 
to  the  tribunal  of  Penance;  for,  God's  ordinances 
bind  only  such  as  are  able  to  fulfill  them. 

It  follows,  in  the  third  place,  that  the  power  of 
forgiving  sins  on  the  part  of  God's  minister,  involves 
the  obligation  of  confessing  them  on  the  part  of 
the  sinner.  The  priest  is  not  empowered  to  give 
absolution  to  every  one  indiscriminately.  He  must 
exercise  the  power  with  judgment  and  discretion.  He 
must  reject  the  impenitent,  and  absolve  the  penitent 
But  how  will  he  judge  of  the  disposition  of  the 
sinner,  unless  he  knows  his  sins?  and  how  will  the 
priest  know  his  sins,  unless  they  are  confessed? 
Hence,  we  are  not  surprised  when  we  read  in  the 
Acts,  that  "  Many  of  them  who  believed,  came  con 
fessing  and  declaring  their  deeds  " l  to  the  Apostles. 
Why  did  they  confess  their  sins  unless  they  were 
bound  to  do  so?  Hence,  also,  we  understand  why 
St.  John  says,  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faith 
ful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  iniquity." 2 

The  strength  of  these  tests  of  Scripture  will  ap 
pear  to  you  much  more  forcible,  when  you  are  told 
that  all  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  from  the  first  to 
the  last,  insist  upon  the  necessity  of  Sacramental 
Confession  as  a  divine  institution.  We  are  not  un- 
frequently  told,  by  those  who  are  little  acquainted 
with  the  doctrine  and  history  of  the  Church,  that 
Sacramental  Confession  was  not  introduced  into 
the  Church  until  1,200  years  after  the  time  of  oui 
A  Acts  xix.  18.~  2  I.  John  i-  9- 


394  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Saviour.  In  vindication  of  their  bold  assertion, 
they  even  introduce  quotations  from  SS.  Basil,  Am 
brose,  Augustine,  Jerome,  and  Chrysostom.  These 
quotations  are  utterly  irrelevant;  but  if  seen  in 
the  context,  they  will  tend  to  prove,  instead  of  dis 
proving  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  Confession.  Foi 
the  sake  of  brevity,  I  shall  cite  a  few  passages 
only  from  the  Fathers  referred  to.  These  citations 
I  take,  almost  at  random,  from  the  copious  writings 
of  these  Fathers  on  Confession.  From  these  ex 
tracts  you  can  judge  of  the  sentiments  of  all  the 
Fathers  on  the  subject  of  Confession.  "Ab  uno 
disce  omnes" 

St.  Basil  writes :  "  In  the  confession  of  sins,  tLe 
same  method  must  be  observed  as  in  laying  open, 
the  infirmities  of  the  body ;  for  as  these  are  not 
rashly  communicated  to  every  one,  but  to  those  only 
who  understand  by  what  method  they  may  be  cured, 
so  the  confession  of  sins  must  be  made  to  such  per 
sons  as  have  the  power  to  apply  a  remedy."  1  Later 
on  he  tells  us  who  those  persons  are.  "Necessarily, 
our  sins  must  be  confessed  to  those  to  whom  has 
been  committed  the  dispensation  of  the  mysteries  of 
God.  For  thus  also  are  they  found  to  have  acted 
who  did  penance  of  old,  in  regard  of  the  saints. 
For,  it  is  written  in  the  Acts,  they  confessed  to  the 
Apostles,  by  whom  also  they  were  baptized." 2  Two 
conclusions  obviously  follow  from  these  passages  of 
St.  Basil :  1st,  the  necessity  of  confession  ;  2d,  the 

1  In  Keg.  Brev.,  qusest.  ccxxix.,  T.  II.,  p.  492. 
8  Ibid,  cclxxxviii..  D.  516. 


THE   SACRAMENT  OF  PENANCE.  395 

obligation  of  declaring  our  sins  to  a  priest,  to  whom, 
in  the' New  Law,  is  committed  "the  dispensation  of 
the  mysteries  of  God." 

St.  Ambrose,  of  Milan,  writes :  "  The  poison  is 
sin  ;  the  remedy,  the  accusation  of  one's  crime :  the 
poison  is  iniquity ;  confession  is  the  remedy  of  the 
relapse.  And,  therefore,  it  is  truly  a  remedy  against 
poison,  if  thou  declare  thine  iniquities,  that  thou 
mayest  be  justified.  Art  thou  ashamed  ?  This  shame 
will  avail  thee  little  at  the  judgment  -seat  of  God."  ! 

The  following  passage  clearly  shows  that  the  great 
Light  of  the  Church  of  Milan  is  speaking  of  con 
fession  to  priests :  "  There  are  some/'  continues  St. 
Ambrose,  "  who  ask  for  penance,  that  they  may  at 
once  be  restored  to  communion.  These  do  not  so 
much  desire  to  be  loosed  as  to  bind  the  priest ;  for 
they  do  not  unburden  their  conscience,  but  they 
burden  his,  who  is  commanded  not  to  give  holy 
things  unto  dogs,  that  is,  not  easily  to  admit  impure 
souls  to  the  holy  communion."2 

Paulinus,  the  secretary  of  St.  Ambrose,  in  his  life 
of  that  great  Bishop,  relates  that  he  used  to  weep 
over  the  penitents  whose  confessions  he  heard. 

St.  Augustine  writes  :  "  Our  merciful  God  wills  us 
to  confess  in  this  world  that  we  may  not  be  con 
founded  in  the  other." s  And  again  :  "  Let  no  one 
say  to  himself,  I  do  penance  to  God  in  private,  I  do 
it  before  God.  Is  it  then  in  vain  that  Christ  hath 
said,  '  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be 

1  See  Faith  of  Catholics,  Vol.  III.,  p.  74  and  seq. 

2  Apud  Wiseman,  Doctrines  of  the  Church.       8  Horn,  am 


396  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

loosed  in  heaven?'  Is  it  in  vain  that  the  keys  have 
been  given  to  the  Church?  Do  we  make  void  the 
Gospel  ?  void  the  words,  of  Christ  ? '" 1 

In  this  extract  how  well  doth  the  great  Doctor 
meet  the  sophistry  of  those  who,  in  our  times,  say 
that  it  is  sufficient  to  confess  to  God ! 

St.  Chrysostom,  in  his  thirtieth  Homily,  says' 
"  Lo !  we  have  now  at  length  reached  the  close  of 
Holy  Lent;  now  especially  we  must  press  forward 
in  the  career  of  fasting,  ....  and  exhibit  a  full  and 
accurate  confession  of  our  sins,  ....  that  with  these 
good  works,  having  come  to  the  day  of  Easter,  we 

may  enjoy  the  bounty  of  the  Lord For,  as 

the  enemy  knows  that  having  confessed  our  sins, 
and  shown  our  wounds  to  the  physician,  we  attain  to 
an  abundant  cure,  he  in  an  especial  manner  op 
poses  us." 

And  again  he  says :  "  Do  not  confess  to  me  only 
of  fornication,  nor  of  those  things  that  are  manifest 
among  all  men,  but  bring  together  also  thy  secret 
calumnies,  and  evil  speakings,  ....  and  all  such 
things."  2 

The  great  Doctor  plainly  enjoins  here  a  detailed 
and  specific  confession  of  our  sins  not  to  God,  but  to 
His,  minister,  as  the  whole  context  evidently  shows. 

The  same  Father,  in  an  eloquent  treatise  on  the 
power  of  the  sacred  ministry,  uses  the  following  words: 
"  To  the  priests  is  given  a  power  which  God  would 
not  grant  either  to  angels  or  archangels  ;  insomuch 
that  what  the  priests  do  below,  God  ratifies  above, 

1  Sermo  cccxcii.  * Tom.  vii.  Comm.  in  Matt. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  397 

and  the  Master  confirms  the  sentence  of  His  servants. 
.For,  He  says,  '  Whose  sins  you  shall  retain,  they  are 
retained.' 

"  What  power,  I  ask,  can  be  greater  than  this  ? 
The  Father  hath  given  all  power  to  the  Son ;  and  I 
see  all  this  same  power  delivered  to  them  by  God 
the  Son. 

*'  To  cleanse  the  leprosy  of  the  body,  or  rather  to 
pronounce  it  cleansed,  was  given  to  the  Jewish  priests 
alone.  But  to  our  Priests  is  granted  the  power  not 
of  declaring  healed  the  leprosy  of  the  body,  but  of 
absolutely  cleansing  the  defilements  of  the  soul."1 

And  again  :  "  If  a  sinner,  as  becomes  him,  would 
use  the  aid  of  his  conscience,  and  hasten  to  confess 
his  crimes,  and  disclose  his  ulcer  to  his  physician, 
who  may  heal  and  not  reproach,  and  receive  remedies 
from  him  ;  if  he  would  speak  to  him  alone,  without 
the  knowledge  of  any  one,  and  with  care  lay  all 
before  him,  easily  would  he  amend  his  failings ;  for, 
the  confession  of  sins  is  the  absolution  of  crimes" '2 , 

St.  Jerome  writes :  "  If  the  serpent,  the  devil, 
secretly  bite  a  man,  and  thus  infect  him  with  the 
poison  of  sin,  and  this  man  shall  remain  silent,  and 
do  not  penance,  nor  be  willing  to  make  known  his 
wound  to  his  brother  and  master ;  the  master,  who 
has  a  tongue  that  can  heal,  cannot  easily  serve  him. 
For,  if  the  ailing  man  be  ashamed  to  open  his  case 
to  the  physician,  no  cure  can  be  expected  ;  for  medi 
cine  does  not  cure  that  of  which  it  knows  nothing."3 


1  Lib.  iii.,  De  Sacerdotio.  a  Ibid.,  Horn. 

3  Comment,  in  Eccles. 
34 


898  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Elsewhere  he  says :  "  With  us,  the  Bishop  or 
priest  binds  or  looses;  Dot  them  who  are  merely 
innocent  or  guilty,  but  having  heard,  as  his  duty 
requires,  the  various  qualities  of  sin,  he  understands 
who  should  be  bound  and  who  loosed." l 

Could  the  Catholic  doctrine  regarding  the  power 
of  the  priests  and  the  obligation  of  confession  be  ex- 
pressed  in  stronger  language  than  this  ? 

And  yet  these  are  the  very  Fathers  who  are 
represented  to  be  opposed  to  Sacramental  Confes 
sion  !  With  a  reckless  disregard  of  the  unanimous 
voice  of  antiquity,  our  adversaries  have  the  hardihood 
to  assert  that  private  or  Sacramental  Confession  was 
introduced  at  a  period  subsequent  to  the  twelfth 
century.  They  do  not,  however,  vouchsafe  to  inform 
us  by  what  Pope  or  Bishop  or  Father  of  the  Church, 
or  by  what  Council,  or  in  what  country,  this  mon 
strous  innovation  was  foisted  on  the  Christian 
Republic.  Surely,  an  institution  which,  in  their 
estimation,  has  been  fraught  with  such  dire  ca 
lamity  to  Christendom,  ought  to  have  its  origin 
marked  with  more  precision.  It  is  sometimes  pru 
dent,  however,  not  to  be  too  particular  in  fixing 
dates. 

I  shall  now,  I  trust,  show  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  reader:  1.  That  Sacramental  Confession  was  not 
introduced ;  2.  That  it  could  not  have  been  intro 
duced  into  the  Church  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles, 
and  consequently  that  it  is  Apostolic  in  its  origin. 

1  Comm.  in  Matt 


THE  SACRAMENT   OF  PENANCE.  399 

That  Confession  was  not  invented  since  the  daya 
of  the  Apostles  is  manifest  as  soon  as  we  attempt  to 
fix  the  period  of  its  first  establishment.  Let  us  go 
back,  step  by  step,  from  the  nineteenth  to  the  first 
century. 

It  had  not  its  origin  in  the  present  century,  aa 
everybody  will  admit. 

Nor  did  it  arise  in  the  sixteenth  century,  since  the 
General  Council  of  Trent,  held  in  that  age,  speaks 
of  it  as  an  established  and  venerable  institution ; 
and  Luther  says  that  "  auricular  Confession,  as  now 
in  vogue,  is  useful,  nay,  necessary ;  nor  would  I," 
he  adds,  "  have  it  abolished,  since  it  is  the  remedy 
of  afflicted  consciences  ;  "  I  and  even  Henry  VIII., 
before  he  founded  a  new  sect,  wrote  a  treatise  in 
defence  of  the  Sacraments,  including  Penance  and 
Confession. 

It  was  not  introduced  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
for  the  Fourth  Council  of  Lateran  passed  a  decree 
in  1215,  obliging  the  faithful  to  confess  their  sins  at 
least  once  a  year.  This  decree,  of  course,  supposes 
Confession  to  be  already  an  established  fact. 

Some  Protestant  writers  fall  into  a  common  error, 
in  interpreting  the  decree  of  the  Lateran  Council,  by 
saying  "  that  Sacramental  Confession  was  never  re 
quired  in  the  Church  of  Rome  until  the  thirteenth 
century."  The  Council  simply  prescribed  a  limit 
beyond  which  the  faithful  should  not  defer  their 
Confession. 

1  Lib.  de  Capt.  Babyi.  cap.  de  Poenit. 


400  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

These  writers  seem  incapable  of  distinguishing  be« 
tween  a  law  obliging  us  to  a  certain  duty  and  a  stat 
ute  fixing  the  time  for  fulfilling  it.  They  might  as 
well  suppose  that  the  revenue  officer  creates  the  law 
regarding  the  payment  of  taxes,  when  he  issues  a 
notice  requiring  the  revenue  to  be  paid  within  a 
given  time. 

Going  back  to  the  ninth  century,  we  find  that 
Confession  could  not  have  had  its  rise  then.  It  was 
at  that  period  that  the  Greek  schism  took  its  rise, 
under  the  leadership  of  Photius.  The  Greek  schis 
matic  church  has  remained  since  then  a  communion 
separate  from  the  Catholic  Church,  having  no  spir 
itual  relations  with  us.  Now,  the  Greek  church  is 
as  tenaciously  attached  as  we  are  to  private  Con 
fession. 

For  the  same  reasons,  Confession  could  not  date 
its  origin  from  the  fifth  or  fourth  century.  The 
Arians  revolted  from  the  Church  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  the  Nestorians  and  Eutychians  in  the 
fifth.  The  two  latter  sects  still  exist  in  large  num 
bers  in  Persia,  Abyssinia,  and  along  the  coast  of 
Malabar,  and  retain  Confession  as  one  of  their 
most  sacred  and  cherished  practices. 

In  fine,  no  human  agency  could  succeed  in  insti 
tuting  Confession  between  the  first  and  fourth  cen 
tury  ;  for  the  teachings  of  our  divine  Redeemer 
and  of  His  disciples  had  made  too  vivid  an  im 
pression  on  the  Christian  community  to  be  easily 
effaced ;  and  the  worst  enemies  of  the  Church  ad- 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF  PENANCE.  401 

mit  that  no  spot  or  wrinkle  had  yet  deformed  her 
fair  visage  in  this,  the  golden  age  of  her  existence. 
These  remarks  suffice  to  convince  us  that  Sacra 
mental  Confession  was  not  instituted  since  the  time  of 
the  Apostles.  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  prove  to  your 
satisfaction  that  its  introduction  into  the  Church,  since 
the  A  postolic  age,  was  absolutely  impossible. 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  we  may  suppose  that 
error  might  insinuate  itself  into  the  Church,  viz. : 
suddenly,  or  by  slow  process.  Now  the  introduction 
of  Confession  in  either  of  those  ways  was  simply 
impossible. 

First,  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  sup 
pose  that  Confession  was  immediately  forced  upon 
the  Christian  world.  For  experience  demonstrates 
with  what  slowness  and  difficulty  men  are  divested 
of  their  religious  impressions,  whether  true  or  false. 
Now,  if  such  is  the  case  with  individuals,  how  ridicu 
lous  would  it  seem  for  whole  nations  to  adopt  in  a 
single  day  some  article  of  belief  which  they  had 
never  admitted  before.  Hence,  we  cannot  imagine, 
without  doing  violence  to  our  good  sense,  that  all 
the  good  people  of  Christendom  went  to  rest,  one 
night,  ignorant  of  the  sacrament  of  Penance,  and 
rose  the  next  morning  firm  believers  in  the  Catho 
lic  doctrine  of  auricular  Confession.  As  well  might 
we  suppose  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
would  retire  to  rest  at  night  believing  they  were 
living  under  a  Republic,  and  wake  up  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  they  were  under  the  rule 
of  Queen  Victoria. 


102  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Nor  is  it  less  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  practice 
of  Confession  was  introduced  by  degrees.  How  can 
we  imagine  that  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  — the 
Clements,  the  Leos,  the  Gregories,  the  Chrysostoms, 
the  Jeromes,  the  Basils,  and  Augustines,  those  in 
trepid  High  Priests  of  the  Lord,  who,  in  every  age, 
at  the  risk  of  suffering  persecution,  and  exile  and 
death,  have  stood  like  faithful  sentinels  on  the  watch- 
towers  of  Israel,  defending,  with  sleepless  eyes,  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  of  God  from  the  smallest  attack 
—  how  can  we  imagine,  I  say,  that  they  would  suffer 
the  enemy  of  truth  to  invade  the  very  sanctuary  *bf 
God's  temple?  If  they  were  so  vigilant  in  cutting 
off  the  least  error,  how  would  they  tamely  submit 
to  see  such  a  monstrous  exotic  engrafted  on  the  fruit 
ful  tree  of  the  Church  ? 

What  gives  additional  weight  to  these  remarks,  is 
the  reflection  that  Confession  is  not  a  speculative 
doctrine,  but  a  doctrine  of  the  most  practical  kind, 
influencing  our  daily  actions,  words,  and  thoughts ; 
and  a  sacrament  to  which  thousands  of  Christians 
have  constant  recourse  in  every  part  of  the  world. 
It  is  a  doctrine,  moreover,  hard  to  flesh  and  blood, 
and  which  no  human  power,  even  if  it  had  the  will, 
could  be  able  to  impose  on  the  human  race.  It  is 
only  a  God  that,  in  such  a  case,  could  exact  the 
homage  of  our  assent. 

In  whatever  light,  therefore,  we  view  the  present 
question  —  whether  we  consider  the  circumstances 
of  time,  or  place,  or  manner  of  its  introduction  — 


THE  SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  403 

the  same  inevitable  conclusion  stares  us  in  the  face : 
that  Sacramental  Confession  is  not  the  invention  of 
man,  but  the  institution  of  Jesus  Christ. 

But  the  doctrine  of  priestly  absolution,  and  the 
private  Confession  of  sins,  is  not  confined  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  and  Oriental  schismatic  churches. 
The  same  doctrine  is  also  taught  by  a  large  and  in 
fluential  portion  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  chiwch 
of  England. 

The  Rev.  C.-S.  Grueber,  a  clergyman  of  the  church 
of  England,  has  recently  published  a  catechism,  in. 
which  the  absolving  power  of  the  minister  of  God, 
and  the  necessity  and  advantage  of  Confession,  are 
plainly  set  forth.  I  will  quote  from  the  Rev.  gentle 
man's  book  his  identical  words : 

Question.  What  do  you  mean  by  absolution  ? 

Answer.  The  pardon  or  forgiveness  of  sin. 

§.  By  what  special  ordinance  of  Christ  are  sins 
committed  after  Baptism  to  be  pardoned? 

A.  By  the  sacrament  of  absolution. 

Q.  Who  is  the  minister  of  absolution? 

A.  A  Priest. 

Q.  Do  you  mean  that  a  Priest  can  really  absolve  4 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  In  what  place  of  the  Holy  Scripture  is  it  re 
corded  that  Christ  gave  this  power  to  the  priest 
hood? 

A.  In  John  xx.  23 ;  see  also  Matt,  xviii.  18. 

Q.  What  does  the  Prayer-Book  (or  Book  of  Com 
mon  Prayer)  say  ? 


404  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

A.  In  the  office  for  the  ordaining  of  Priests,  the 
Bishop  is  directed  to  say,  "  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost 
for  the  office  and  work  of  a  Priest  in  the  Church  of 
God.  Whose  sins  thou  dost  forgive,  they  are  for 
given."  In  the  office  for  the  visitation  of  the  sick 
it  is  said,  "  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  left  in  His 
Church  power  to  absolve  all  sinners  that  truly  re 
pent  and  believe  in  Him."  In  the  order  for  morn 
ing  and  evening  prayer  we  say  again,  "  Almighty 
God  hath  given  power  and  commandment  to  His 
ministers  to  declare  and  pronounce  to  His  people, 
being  penitent,  the  absolution  and  remission  of  their 
sins." 

Q.  For  what  purpose  hath  Christ  given  this  power 
to  Priests  to  pronounce  absolution  in  His  name  ? 

A.  For  the  consolation  of  the  penitent ;  the  quieting 
of  his  conscience. 

Q.  What  must  precede  the  absolution  of  the 
penitent? 

A.   Confession Before  absolution  privately 

given,   Confession   must  be   made   to   a   Priest  pri 
vately. 

Q.  In  what  case  does  the  church  of  England 
order  her  ministers  to  move  people  to  private,  or,  as 
it  is  called,  to  auricular  Confession  ? 

A.  When  they  feel  their  conscience  troubled  with 
any  weighty  matter. 

Q.  What  is  weighty  matter? 

A.  Mortal  sin  certainly  is  weighty ;  sins  of  omis 
sion  or  commission  of  any  kind,  that  press  upon  the 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF  PENANCE.  405 

mind,  are  so  too.  Anything  may  be  weighty  that 
causes  scruple  or  doubtfulness. 

§.  At  what  times  in  particular  does  the  Church 
BO  order'? 

A.  In  the  time  of  sickness,  and  before  coming  to 
(he  Holy  Communion. 

Q.  Is  there  any  other  class  of  persons  to  whom 
Confession  is  profitable? 

A.  Yes ;  to  those  who  desire  to  lead  a  saintly  life. 
T/iese,  indeed,  are  the  persons  who  most  frequently  re 
tort  to  it. 

Q.  Is  there  any  other  object  in  Confession,  besides 
the  seeking  absolution  for  past  sin,  and  the  quieting 
of  the  penitent's  conscience? 

A.  Yes;  the  practice  of  confessing  each  single 
sin  is  a  great  check  upon  the  commission  of  sin,  and 
a  preservative  of  purity  of  life.1 

Here  we  have  the  divine  institution  of  priestly 
absolution  and  the  necessity  and  advantages  of 
Sacramental  Confession  plainly  taught,  not  in  a 
speculative  treatise,  but  in  a  practical  catechism,  by 
a  distinguished  minister  of  the  church  of  England ; 
taught  by  a  minister  who  draws  his  salary  from  the 
funds  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church ;  who 
preaches  and  administers  in  a  church  edifice  recog 
nized  as  a  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  who  is 
in  strict  communion  with  a  Bishop  of  the  Protest 
ant  Episcopal  church  of  England. 

lSee  "A  Catechism  on  the  Church."  By  the  Rev.  C.  a 
Grueber,  Hambridge,  Diocess  of  Bath  and  Wells.  London  : 
Palmer.  1870. 


406  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

And  these  doctrines  are  upheld,  not  by  one  emi 
nent  divine  only,  but  by  hundreds  of  clergymen,  as 
well  as  by  thousands  of  the  Protestant  Episcopalians 
of  England. 

What  a  strange  spectacle  to  behold  the  same 
church  teaching  diametrically  opposite  doctrines! 
What  is  orthodox  in  the  diocess  of  Bath  and  Wells 
is  decidedly  heterodox  in  the  diocess  of  North  Caro 
lina.  An  ordinance  which  Rev.  Mr.  Grueber  pro 
claims  to  be  of  divine  faith,  is  characterized  by  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Atkinson l  as  the  invention  of  men. 
What  Dr.  Grueber  inculcates  as  a  most  salutary 
practice,  Dr.  Atkinson  anathematizes  as  pernicious  to 
religion.  Confession,  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
former,  is  a  great  "  check  upon  the  commission  of 
sin,"  is  stigmatized  by  the  latter  as  an  incentive  to 
sin.  "  Behold  how  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for 
brethen  to  dwell  together  in  unity."  2 

Suppose  that  the  venerable  Protestant  Episcopal 
Bishop  of  North  Carolina,  in  passing  through  Eng 
land,  were  invited  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grueber  to 
preach  in  his  church  in  the  morning,  and  that  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Prelate  chose  for  his  subject  a  sermon  on 
Confession ;  and  suppose  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grueber 
selected  in  the  evening,  as  the  subject  of  his  dis 
course,  the  doctrine  advanced  by  him  in  his  cate 
chism. 

Let  us  imagine  some  benighted  dissenter  attend- 

1  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  oi'  North  Carolina. 
a  Ps.  cxxxii. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  407 

ing  Mr.  Gruebers  church  at  the  morning  and  even- 
ing  service,  with  the  view  of  being  enlightened  in 
the  teachings  of  the  Protestant  church,  would  not 
our  dissenter  be  sorely  perplexed,  on  returning  home 
at  night,  as  to  what  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
really  did  teach  ? 

Some  Episcopalians  are  pleased  to  admit  that 
Confession  may  be  resorted  to  with  spiritual  profit 
in  certain  abnormal  cases  — for  instance,  in  time 
of  sickness.  So  that  in  their  judgment,  a  relig 
ious  observance  which  is  salutary  to  a  sick  man,  is 
pernicious  to  him  in  good  health.  For  the  life 
of  me,  I  cannot  see  how  the  circumstance  of  bodily 
health  can  affect  the  moral  character  of  a  religious 
act. 

That  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  or  the  Methodist 
church  should  deny  the  power  of  priestly  absolution, 
I  readily  understand,  since  these  churches  disclaim, 
in  their  confessions  of  faith,  any  such  prerogative 
for  their  clergy.  But  I  cannot  well  conceive  why  a 
Protestant  Episcopalian  should  repudiate  the  par 
doning  power,  which  is  plainly  asserted  in  his 
standard  Prayer-Book. 

Whenever  an  Episcopalian  Bishop  imposes  hands 
on  candidates  for  the  ministry  he  employs  the  fol 
lowing  words,  which  are  found  in  the  Book  of  Com 
mon  Prayer:  "Receive  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  office 
and  work  of  a  Priest  in  the  Church  of  God,  now  com 
mitted  unto  thee  by  the  imposition  of  our  hands. 
VVhose  sins  thou  dost  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  ;  and 


408  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

whose  sins  thou  dost  retain,  they  are  retained." '  If 
these  words  do  not  mean  that  the  minister  receiver 
by  the  imposing  of  the  Bishop's  hands,  the  power  of 
forgiving  sin,  they  mean  nothing  at  all.  And  when 
the  Bishop  pronounces  this  sentence,  either  he 
intends  to  convey  this  power  of  absolution,  or  he 
does  not.  If  he  intended  to  confer  this  power,  be 
could  not  employ  more  clear  and  precise  language 
to  express  his  idea ;  if  he  did  not  intend  to  confer 
this  power,  then  his  language  is  calculated  to  mislead. 

Just  imagine  that  prelate  addressing  a  candidate 
for  Holy  Orders,  in  the  morning,  with  the  words : 
"  Whose  sins  thou  dost  forgive  they  are  forgiven  ; " 
and  after  divine  service,  saying  to  the  young  minis 
ter  :  Remember,  sir,  you  have  no  power  to  forgive 
sins.  The  words  of  ordination  are  a  mere  figure  of 
speech. 

When  a  Catholic  Bishop  ordains  priests,  he  uses 
the  precise  words  which  I  have  quoted,  because  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  borrows  them  from  our 
Pontifical.  But  he  means  exactly  what  he  says, 
viz. :  That  the  Priest  receives  through  the  ministra 
tion  of  the  Bishop  the  power  of  forgiving  sins. 

To  sum  up:  We  have  seen  that  tjie  Sacrament 
of  Penance  and  absolution  by  the  priest  is  taught 
in  Scripture;  proclaimed  by  the  Fathers;  upheld 
not  only  by  Roman  Catholics  throughout  the  world, 
but  also  by  all  the  schismatic  Christians  of  the  East ; 

1  The  Ordering  of  Priests. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  409 

inculcated  in  those  old  and  genuine  editions  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  have  not  been  ener 
vated  by  being  subjected  to  the  prun ing-knife  in 
this  country;  and  that  the  same  practice  is  encour 
aged  by  an  influential  portion  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  in  England,  and  I  will  add,  also, 
in  the  United  States. 

borne,  again,  object  to  priestly  absolution  on  the 
assumption  that  the  exercise  of  such  a  function 
would  be  a  usurpation  of  an  incommunicable  pre 
rogative  of  God,  who  alone  can  forgive  sins.  This 
was  precisely  the  language  addressed  by  the  Scribes 
to  our  Saviour.  They  exclaimed  :  "  He  blasphem- 
eth !  who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only?"  My 
answer,  therefore,  will  be  equally  applicable  to 
old  and  modern  objectors.  It  is  not  blasphemy 
for  a  priest  to  claim  the  power  of  forgiving  sins, 
since  he  acts  as  the  delegate  of  the  Most  High. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  blasphemous,  if  a  priest  pre 
tended  to  absolve  in  his  own  name  and  by  virtue 
of  his  own  authority.  But  when  the  priest  absolves 
the  penitent  sinner,  he  acts  in  the  name,  and  by 
the  express  authority,  of  Jesus  Christ;  for  he  says: 
"  I  absolve  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Let  it  be  under 
stood,  once  for  all,  that  the  priest  arrogates  to  him 
self  no  divine  powers.  He  is  but  a  feeble  voice. 
It  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that  operates  sanctity  in  the 
soul  of  the  penitent. 

1  Mark  ii.  7. 
35 


410  THE  FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Not  a  few  Protestant  Episcopalians,  I  believe,  still 
admit  that  original  sin  is  washed  away  in  the  Sacra 
ment  of  Baptism.  If  the  minister  is  not  guilty  of 
blasphemy,  in  being  the  instrument  of  God's  mercy, 
in  forgiving  sins  by  Baptism,  how  can  a  priest  blas 
pheme  in  being  the  instrument  of  divine  mercy,  in 
absolving  sinners  in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  ?  for 
the  same  Lord  who  instituted  Baptism  for  the  remis 
sion  of  original  sin,  established  Penance  for  the  for 
giveness  of  sins  committed  after  Baptism.  Did  not 
the  Apostles  exercise  divine  power  in  raising  dead 
bodies  to  life  again,  and  in  raising  souls  that  were 
dead  to  the  life  of  grace?  And  yet  no  one  but 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  accused  them  of  usurping 
God's  powers.  And  cannot  the  Almighty,  with 
out  derogating  from  His  own  glory,  give  to  men 
in  the  nineteenth  century  privileges  which  He  ac 
corded  to  them  in  the  first  age  of  the  Church  ? 

Far,  then,  from  dishonoring,  we  honor  God  by 
having  recourse  to  the  earthly  physician  whom  He 
has  appointed  for  us,  and,  like  the  multitude  in  the 
Gospel,  we  "glorify  God,  who  hath  given  such 
power  to  men." 1 

Others  also  object  to  Confession,  on  the  alleged 
ground  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  having  re 
course  to  the  ministrations  of  a  priest,  since  God 
can  forgive  us  in  secret.  If  God  is  able  to  save 
us  without  any  priestly  ministrations,  why,  then, 
are  not  the  people  informed  that  they  can,  in 

1  Matt.  be.  8. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  PENANCE.  411 

future,  dispense  altogether  with  the  services  of  the 
clergy,  without  any  detriment  to  their  own  salva 
tion?  St.  Augustine,  who  lived  1,400  years  ago, 
will  answer  the  objection  for  me :  "  Let  no  one,"  re 
marks  this  illustrious  Doctor,  "  say  to  himself,  I  lo 
Penance  to  God  in  private1;  I  do  it  before  God.  Is 
it  then  in  vain  that  Christ  has  said  '  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven  '  ?  Is 
it  in  vain  that  the  keys  have  been  given  to  the 
Church?"  The  question  for  us  is  not  what  God 
is  able  to  do,  but  what  He  has  willed  to  do.  God 
might  have  adopted  other  means  for  the  justification 
of  the  sinner,  as  he  might  have  created  a  world 
different  from  the  present  one.  But  it  is  our  busi 
ness  to  take  our  Father  at  His  word,  and  to  have 
recourse  with  gratitude  to  the  system  He  has  actu 
ally  established  for  our  justification.  Now,  we  are 
assured  by  His  infallible  word,  that  it  is  by  having 
recourse  to  His  consecrated  ministers  that  our  sins 
will  be  forgiven  us.1 

It  is  related  in  the  Book  of  Kings  that  Naaman, 
the  Syrian,  was  afflicted  with  a  grievous  leprosy, 
which  baffled  the  skill  of  the  physicians  of  his 
country.  He  had,  in  his  household,  a  Jewish 
maid-servant.  She  spoke  to  her  master  of  the 
great  prophet  Eliseus,  who  lived  in  her  native 
country,  to  whom  the  Lord  had  given  the  power 
of  performing  miracles.  She  besought  her  master 
to  consult  the  prophet.  Naaman  accordingly  set 

1  John  xx. 


412  THE   FAITH  OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

out  for  the  country  of  Israel,  and  begged 
to  heal  him.  The  prophet  told  him  to  go  and 
wash  seven  times  in  the  Jordan  ;  but  Naaman, 
instead  of  doing  as  he  was  directed,  became  very 
angry,  and  said :  "  I  thought  he  would  have  come 
out  to  me,  .  .  .  and  touched  with  his  hand  the  place 
of  the  leprosy,  and  healed  me.  Are  not  the  Abana 
and  the  Pharfar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  better  than  all 
the  waters  of  Israel,  that  I  may  wash  in  them,  and 
be  made  clean  ?"  l  But  the  servants  of  Naamau  re 
monstrated  with  him,  and  besought  him  to  comply 
with  the  prophet's  injunction,  telling  him  that  the 
conditions  were  easy,  and  the  Jordan  was  at  hand. 
Naaman  went  and  washed,  and  was  cleansed.  Our 
opponents,  like  Naaman,  cry  out :  "  Why  should  you 
go  to  a  priest,  a  sinner  like  yourself,  when,  secretly 
in  your  own  room,  you  can  approach  God,  the  pure 
fountain  of  grace,  to  be  washed  from  your  sins  ?  "  I 
answer,  because  Jesus  Christ,  a  prophet,  and  more 
than  a  prophet,  has  commanded  you  to  do  so. 

The  last  charge  that  I  will  notice  is  the  most  se 
rious  and  the  most  offensive.  We  are  told  that  pri 
vate  Confession  is  lawless ;  that  the  conscience  soon 
becomes  "  enfeebled  and  chained  and  starved  "  by 
it;  and,  worse  and  worse,  that  sins  are  more  readily 
committed,  if  followed  by  an  absolution  conveying 
pardon.  In  other  words,  that  the  more  attached 
Catholics  are  to  the  practices  of  their  holy  religion, 
the  more  depraved  and  corrupt  they  become.  Or, 
if  they  remain  faithful  to  God,  this  is  not  by  reason 
of,  but  in  spite  of  their  religious  practices. 

1 IV.  Kings  v. 


THE   SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  413 

Surely  this  was  not  the  sentiment  of  the  late  Dr, 
Ives,  once  Protestant  Bishop  of  North  Carolina,  and 
of  many  other  illustrious  converts,  who,  from  the 
day  of  their  conversion  to  the  hour  of  their  death, 
never  failed  to  receive  consolation  and  strength  from 
the  sacred  tribunal. 

Nor  is  this  the  sentiment  of  Rev.  Father  Lyman, 
a  Catholic  Priest  of  Baltimore,  and  brother  of  the 
assistant  Protestant  Bishop  of  North  Carolina.  Nor 
is  it  the  sentiment  of  the  present  Archbishops  of 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  Bishops  of 
Wilmington,  Cleveland,  Columbus,  and  Ogdensburg, 
and  a  host  of  others,  both  of  the  Protestant  clergy 
and  laity,  who,  within  the  last  fifty  years,  have 
entered  the  Catholic  Church. 

If  we  compare  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  systems 
for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  Catholic  system  will 
not  suffer  by  the  comparison.  According  to  the 
Protestant  system,  repentance  is  necessary  and  suf 
ficient  for  justification.  The  Catholic  system  also 
requires  repentance  on  the  part  of  the  sinner  as  an 
indispensable  prerequisite  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin. 
But  it  requires  much  more  than  this.  Before  the 
penitent  receives  absolution,  he  must  carefully  ex 
amine  his  conscience,  and  confess  his  sins,  according 
to  their  number  and  kind.  He  is  obliged  to  have 
a  firm  purpose  of  amendment;  to  promise  restitu 
tion,  if  he  has  defrauded  his  neighbor;  reparation 
for  any  injury  done  to  his  neighbor's  character ; 
reconciliation  with  his  enemies,  and  to  avoid  the 
occasions  of  sin.  Do  not  these  obligations  afford  a 
35* 


414  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

better  safeguard  against  a  relapse  into  sin  than  a 
simple  internal  act  of  contrition? 

Many  most  eminent  Protestant,  and  even  infidel 
writers,  who  were  conversant  with  the  practical 
workings  of  the  Confessional  in  the  countries  where 
they  lived,  bear  testimony  to  the  moral  reformation 
produced  by  Confession.  The  famous  German  phil 
osopher,  Leibnitz,  admits  that  it  is  a  great  benefit 
conferred  on  men,  by  God,  that  He  left  in  His 
Church  the  power  of  forgiving  sins.1 

Voltaire,  certainly  no  friend  of  Christianity, 
avows  "  that  there  is  not  perhaps  a  more  useful 
institution  than  Confession."  * 

Rousseau,  not  less  hostile  to  the  Church,  exclaims : 
"How  many  restitutions  and  reparations  does  not 
Confession  cause  among  Catholics ! " s 

The  Protestant  authorities  of  Nuremberg,  in 
Germany,  shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the 
reformed  doctrines  in  that  city,  were  so  much 
alarmed  at  the  laxity  of  morals  which  succeeded 
after  the  abolition  of  Confession,  that  they  petitioned 
their  Emperor,  Charles  V.,  to  have  the  practice  of 
Confession  restored. 

It  is  a  favorite  practice  for  the  adversaries  of  the 
Catholic  Church  to  refer  to  the  alleged  loose  morals 
prevailing  in  France,  and  in  other  Catholic  coun 
tries,  as  a  proof  of  the  inferior  standard  of  Catholic 
morality.  This  is  a  safe,  and  at  the  same  time  not 
the  most  honorable,  mode  of  attack,  as  the  people 
*f  those  nations  are  too  far  off  to  defend  themselves. 

1Systenia  Tkeol.     2Remarquee  sui  i'Oiynipc        Enuie, 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF   PENANCE.  415 

For  my  part,  I  have  spent  a  considerable  time  in 
various  portions  of  France,  and  more  edifying 
Christians  I  have  never  witnessed  than  those  I  have 
met  in  that  country.  For  six  years  I  had  for  my 
professors  French  priests,  whose  exemplary  livea 
were  a  daily  sermon  to  all  of  us. 

And  I  submit  that  the  cosmopolitan  city  of  Paris 
(waiving,  for  the  present,  the  enormities  of  which  it 
is  accused,)  is  not  to  be  adduced  as  a  fair  criterion 
of  French  morality.  Let  us  stay  at  home,  and  judge 
of  Catholic  morals  by  the  examples  furnished  under 
our  eyes. 

The  influence  of  the  Confessional  has  been  fairly 
tested  in  this  country,  since  the  foundation  of  our 
Republic.  Are  practical  Catholics  enfeebled  in 
conscience?  Is  their  conscience  chained  and 
starved?  Has  the  absolution  they  received,  whet 
ted  their  appetites  for  more  sin  ?  And  are  they 
monsters  of  immorality  ?  I  think  that  an  enlight 
ened  Protestant  public  will  pronounce  a  contrary 
verdict. 

I  feel  that  I  can  say,  with  truth,  that  Catholics 
who  frequent  the  Confessional,  are  generally  virtuous 
in  their  private  lives;  just  and  honorable  in  their 
dealings  with  others,  and  that  they  cultivate  charity 
and  good-will  towards  their  fellow-citizens. 

It  will  not  do  to  say  to  me,  that  it  is  the  system, 
and  not  the  individual,  that  is  attacked.  How  can 
we  judge  of  a  system,  unless  by  its  practical  working 
in  the  individual  ?  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them,"  says  our  Redeemer. 


416  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Vices,  indeed,  we  have  to  deplore  among  certain 
classes  of  our  people,  which  are  often  superinduced 
by  their  migratory  habits,  and  irregular  mode  of 
life.  But  they  are  commonly  sins  of  frailty,  and 
these  are  not  the  persons  that  are  accustomed  to 
approach  the  Confessional.  If  they  did,  their  livea 
would  be  very  different  from  what  they  are. 

The  best  of  us,  alas !  are  not  what  we  ought  to 
be,  considering  the  graces  we  receive.  But  if  you 
seek  for  canting  hypocrites,  or  colossal  defaulters, 
or  perpetrators  of  well-laid  schemes  of  forgery,  or  of 
systematic  licentiousness,  or  of  premeditated  violence, 
you  will  seek  for  such  in  vain  among  those  who  fre 
quent  the  Confessional. 

But  we  are  told  that  Confession  is  an  intolerable 
yoke,  and  that  it  makes  its  votaries  the  slaves  of  the 
priests. 

Before  answering  this  objection,  let  me  call  your 
attention  to  the  inconsistency  of  our  adversaries,  who 
blow  hot  and  cold  in  the  same  breath.  At  the  same 
time  they  denounce  Confession  as  being  too  hard  a 
remedy  for  sin,  and  condemn  it  as  being  a  smooth 
road  to  heaven.  You  have  only,  say  they,  to  pay 
a  little  toll  at  the  Confessional  gate,  to  pass  the 
biggest  load  of  sin.  And  then  they  call  it  an  in 
tolerable  yoke.  In  one  sentence  they  style  it  a  bed 
of  roses ;  and  in  the  next  a  bed  of  thorns. 

In  the  last  objection  it  was  charged  that  the  votaries 
of  Confession  had  no  moral  constraint  at  all.  Now 
it  is  said  that  their  conscience  is  bound  in  chains  of 


THE  SACRAMENT   OF  PENANCE.  417 

slavery.  Surely  Confession  cannot  be  hard  and  easy 
at  the  same  time. 

I  have  already  refuted,  I  trust,  the  former  charge. 
I  shall  now  answer  the  second.  I  am  not  aware  in 
what  sense  our  people  are  less  independent  than 
those  of  any  other  class  of  the  community.  The 
only  icstraint,  as  far  as  I  know,  imposed  on  Cath 
olics  by  their  priests,  is  the  yoke  of  the  Gospel,  and 
to  this  restraint  no  Christian  ought  to  object.  In 
my  estimation,  no  body  of  Christians  enjoys  more 
Apostolic  freedom  than  those  of  the  Catholic  com 
munion,  because  they  are  guided  in  their  conduct, 
not  by  the  ever-changing  ipse  dixit  of  any  minister, 
but  by  the  unchangeable  teachings  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

But  if  to  love  their  priest,  to  reverence  his  sacred 
character,  to  obey  his  voice  as  the  voice  of  God ;  if 
to  be  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice  for  their  spiritual 
father ;  if,  I  say,  you  call  this  slavery,  then  our  Cath 
olic  people  are  slaves,  indeed ;  and,  what  is  more, 
they  are  content  with  their  chains. 

Even  our  Manuals  of  Devotion  have  not  escaped 
the  lash  of  wanton  criticism.  They  have  excited 
the  pious  horror  of  some  modern  Pharisees,  because 
they  contain  a  table  of  sins  for  the  use  of  those 
preparing  for  Confession.  The  same  flower  which 
furnishes  honey  to  the  bee,  supplies  poison  to  the 
wasp ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  same  book  which 
gives  only  the  honey  of  consolation  to  the  devout 
reader,  has  nothing  but  moral  poison  for  those  that 
search  its  pages  for  nothing  else. 


418  THE   FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

How  can  any  one  object  to  the  table  of  sins  in 
our  prayer-books,  and  consistently  advocate  the 
circulation  of  the  Bible,  which  contains  incompara 
bly  plainer  and  more  palpable  allusions  to  gross 
crimes  than  are  found  in  our  books  of  devotion? 
Let  us  not  forget  the  adage,  "  Honi  soit  qui  mal  y 
pense" 

I  may  be  permitted,  in  concluding  this  subject,  to 
add  the  testimony  of  my  own  experience  on  the 
beneficent  influence  of  the  Confessional ;  for,  like 
my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  I  am,  in  the  language 
of  Dry  den, 

"  One  bred  apart  from  worldly  noise, 
To  study  souls,  their  cures,  and  their  diseases." 

Since  the  time  of  my  ordination  up  to  the  present 
hour,  I  have  been  accustomed  to  hear  Confessions 
almost  every  day.  I  have,  therefore,  had  a  fair  op 
portunity  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the  "  system." 
And  the  impressions  forced  upon  my  mind,  far  from 
being  peculiar  to  myself,  are  shared  by  every 
Catholic  priest  throughout  the  world  who  is  charged 
with  the  care  of  souls.  And  the  testimony  of  ten 
experienced  confessors  ought,  in  my  estimation,  to 
have  more  weight,  in  enabling  men  to  judge  of  the 
moral  tendencies  of  the  Confessional,  than  the  gratui 
tous  assertions  of  a  thousand  individuals  who  have 
no  personal  experience  of  the  Confessional,  but  who 
draw  on  their  heated  imaginations,  or  on  the  pages 
of  sensational  novels,  for  the  statements  they  offer. 


THE  SACHAMENT  OF  PENANCE.  419 

My  experience  is,  that  the  Confessional  is  the  most 
powerful  lever  ever  erected  by  a  merciful  God  for 
raising  men  from  the  mire  of  sin.  It  has  more 
weight  in  withdrawing  people  from  vice  than  even 
the  pulpit.  In  public  sermons,  we  scatter  the  seed 
of  the  Word  of  God ;  in  the  Confessional,  we  reap 
the  harvest.  In  sermons,  to  use  a  military  phrase, 
the  fire  is  at  random,  but  in  Confession  it  is  a  dead 
shot.  The  words  of  the  priest  go  home  to  the  heart 
of  the  penitent.  In  a  public  discourse  the  priest 
addresses  all  in  general,  and  his  words  of  admonition 
may  be  applicable  to  very  few  of  his  hearers.  But 
his  words  spoken  in  the  Confessional  are  directed 
exclusively  to  the  penitent,  whose  heart  is  open  to 
receive  the  Word  of  God.  The  confessor  exhorts 
the  penitent  according  to  his  spiritual  wants.  He 
cautions  him  against  the  frequentation  of  dangerous 
company,  or  other  occasions  of  sin  ;  or  he  recom 
mends  special  practices  of  piety  suited  to  the  peni 
tent's  wants. 

Hence  missionaries  are  accustomed  to  estimate  the 
fruit  of  a  mission,  more  by  the  number  of  penitents 
who  have  approached  the  sacred  tribunal,  than  by 
the  number  of  persons  who  have  listened  to  their 
sermons. 

Of  all  the  labors  that  our  sacred  ministry  imposes 
on  us  there  are  none  more  arduous  or  more  irksome 
than  that  of  hearing  Confessions.  It  is  no  trifling 
task  to  sit  for  six  or  eight  consecutive  hours  on  a 
hot  summer's  day,  listening  to  stories  of  sm  and 


420  THE  FAITH   OP  OUR  FATHERS. 

sorrow  and  misery ;  and  it  is  only  the  consciousness 
of  the  immense  good  which  he  is  doing,  that  sustains 
the  confessor  in  the  sacred  tribunal.  He  is  one 
"who  can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant  and 
erring,  because  he  himself  is  also  encompassed  with 
infirmity."1 

I  have  seen  the  man  whose  consciences  as  weighed 
down  by  the  accumulated  sins  of  twenty  winters. 
Upon  his  face  were  branded  guilt  and  ehame  and 
remorse  and  confusion.  There  he  stood  by  the  Con 
fessional,  with  a  downcast  countenance,  ashamed, 
like  the  Publican,  to  look  up  to  heaven.  And  he 
glided  into  the  little  mercy-seat.  No  human  ear 
will  ever  learn  what  there  transpired.  The  revela 
tions  of  the  Confessional  are  a  sealed  book. 

But  during  the  few  moments  spent  in  the  Confes 
sional,  a  resurrection  occurred  more  miraculous  than 
the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  tomb  —  it  was  the 
resurrection  of  a  soul,  that  had  long  lain  worm-eaten, 
from  the  grave  of  sin.  During  those  precious  mo 
ments,  a  ray  from  heaven  dispelled  the  darkness  and 
gloom  from  that  self-accuser's  mind;  and  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  melted  his  frozen 
heart,  and  the  purifying  influence  of  the  same  Spirit 
that  came  on  the  Apostles,  "like  a  mighty  wind 
from  heaven,"  scattered  the  poisonous  atmosphere 
in  which  he  lived,  and  filled  his  soul  with  divine 
grace.  And  when  he  came  out  there  was  quickness 
in  his  step,  and  joy  on  his  countenance,  and  a  new 

1  Heb.  v.  2. 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  TENANCE.  421 

light  in  his  eye.  And  had  you  asked  him  why,  he 
would  have  answered,  because  I  was  lost,  and  am 
found ;  having  been  dead,  I  am  come  to  life  again. 


II. 

ON   THE   RELATIVE  MORALITY   OF   CATHOLIC    AND    PROTES 
TANT    COUNTRIES. 

It  has  been  gravely  asserted  that  the  confession 
of  sin  and  the  doctrine  of  absolution  tend  to  the 
spread  of  crime  and  immorality.  Statistics  are  pro 
duced  to  show  that  murder  and  illegitimate  birthd 
are  largely  in  excess  in  countries  under  Catholic  in 
fluence  ;  and  that  this  prevalence  of  wickedness  is 
the  result  of  Confession  and  easy  absolution. 

If  our  system  of  absolving  those  only  who  both 
repent  and  confess,  leads  to  laxity  of  morals,  how 
much  more  must  the  Protestant  system,  which  omits 
that  which  is  most  humiliating,  and  admits  the 
sinner  to  reconciliation  on  condition  of  mere  interior 
dispositions  ?  As  all  our  catechisms  teach,  and  as 
every  Catholic  knows,  there  is  no  pardon  of  sin 
without  sorrow  of  heart  and  purpose  of  amendment. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  most  igno 
rant  Catholic  believes  he  can  procure  the  pardon 
of  his  sins  by  simply  confessing  them,  without  being 
truly  sorry  for  them.  The  estimate  which  so  many 
Protestants  set  on  the  virtue  of  even  the  lower  classes 
of  Roman  Catholics  is  clearly  enough  evinced  in  the 
preference  which  they  constantly  manifest  in  their 
36 


422  THE   FAITH  OF  OCR  FATHERS. 

employment  of  Catholics — practical  Catholics-— 
Catholics  who  go  to  Confession.  I  maintain,  therefore, 
that  Confession,  far  from  being  an  incentive  to  sin, 
as  our  adversaries  have  the  hardihood  to  affirm,  is  a 
most  powerful  check  on  the  depravity  of  men,  and  a 
most  effectual  preventive  of  their  criminal  excesses, 

But  is  it  true  that  crimes,  especially  murder  and 
illegitimacy,  are  more  prevalent  in  Catholic  than 
in  Protestant  countries?  I  utterly  deny  the  asser 
tion,  and  also  appeal  to  statistics  in  support  of  the 
denial.  Whence  do  our  opponents  derive  their 
information  ?  Forsooth,  from  Rev.  M.  Hobart 
Seymour's  "  Nights  among  Romanists,"  and  like 
absolutely  unreliable  compilations,  the  false  state 
ments  of  which  have  been  again  and  again  refuted. 

Rev.  Mr.  Seymour  gives  the  following  list  of  the 
number  of  murders  in  England,  France,  and  Ire 
land  : 

Ireland 19  homicides  to  the  million  of  inhabitants. 

France 31  " 

England 4 

The  reader  of  the  above  might  well  draw  back  in 
astonishment,  and  exclaim, "  Truly  moral  atmosphere 
of  England ! "  But  how  do  these  statements  com 
pare  with  the  official  records  which  I  submit  to 
the  unprejudiced  reader  ?  Recent  returns  from  the 
"Hand- Book"  for  Prance,  «ml  "Thorn's  Official 
Directory  for  England  and  Ireland,  1869,"  are  aa 
follows : 


THE  SACRAMENT  OF  PENANCE.  423 

Convictions  (and  sentences  to  death).  Execution*. 

1864.— France 9            5 

1867.— England  and  Wales 27          10 

Ireland 3            0 

These  figures,  which  are  from  authenticated 
sources,  do  not  bear  out  our  accusers  in  their  asser 
tion  that  murders  are  more  prevalent  in  Catholic 
than  in  Protestant  countries.  The  statistics  of  this 
crime  are  limited,  or  they  are  not  in  very  general 
circulation.  But  we  have  more  extensive  informa 
tion  in  reference  to  the  other  great  crime  which,  it  is 
charged,  prevails  to  a  much  more  alarming  extent 
in  countries  under  Catholic  influence,  viz.,  illegiti 
macy.  Here  again  we  shall  meet  statistics  with 
counter-statistics,  to  refute  unjust  declarations.  We 
do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  advocating  the  im- 
maculateness  of  Catholic  communities.  We  frankly 
admit  and  heartily  deplore  the  disorders  which 
Catholics  commit,  but  we  deny  that  they  are  worse 
than  their  Protestant  neighbors ;  and  still  roci'e  em 
phatically  do  we  deny  that  the  Church  is  responsible 
for  their  disorders. 

The  Journal  of  the  Statistical  Society  of  London, 
of  the  years  1860,  '62,  '65,  '67,  gives  the  number  of 
illegitimate  births  in  England  and  Wales  as  6J  in 
every  hundred,  whilst  in  the  Catholic  kingdom  of 
Sardinia  the  number  is  slightly  over  two  in  the 
hundred,  and  in  Ireland  three  in  every  hundred.  If 
the  test  of  illegitimacy  is  a  correct  index  of  the 
morality  of  a  country,  how  refreshing  to  pass  from 


424  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Protestant  England  across  to  Catholic  Ireland,  or  to 
the  Continent,  and  visit  Sardinia  !  The  moral  atmos 
phere  of  these  countries,  compared  with  England. 
must  be  as  a  healthful  breeze  to  a  pestilential  marsh. 
That  we  may  see  at  a  glance  the  real  condition 
of  European  countries  in  reference  to  this  species  of 
crime,  I  will  here  insert  as  correct  a  table  as  can  be 
made  from  the  latest  reports.  (Vid.  Catholic  World, 
Vol.  XL,  p.  112.) 

PERCENTAGE   OF   ILLEGITIMACY  IN   PROTESTANT 
AND  CATHOLIC  COUNTRIES  OF  EUROPE. 

Protestant. 

•       Per  cent. 

Holland 4.0 

Switzerland 5.5 

Prussia  (Protestant) 10.0 

England  and  Wales '. 6.5 

Sweden  and  Norway 9.6 

Scotland  10.1 

Denmark 11.0 

German  States 14.8 

Wurtemburg 16.4 

Catholic. 

P»r  cent 

Italy 5.1 

Spain  5  5 

France 7.2 

Prussia  (Catholic)  6.5 

Belgium  7.2 

Austria 11.1 

Ireland 3.0 


THE  SACRAMENT   OF   PENANCE.  425 

We  have  divided  Prussia  into  Protestant  and 
Catholic  because  statistics  are  kept  according  to  the 
religious  creed  of  the  people;  and  we  discover  that, 
whilst  among  the  Catholic  portion  of  the  empire 
there  is  but  a  percentage  of  six  and  a  half  of  ille 
gitimate  births,  among  the  Protestants  it  runs  up 
to  ten  per  cent.  And  the  same  remark  is  applicable 
to  Ireland. 

The  Scotman,  whose  statements  are  based  on  the 
report  of  the  British  Kegistrar-General,  publishes 
the  following  statistics : 

"  The  proportion  of  illegitimate  births  to  the  total 
number  of  births  is  in  Ireland  3.8  per  cent. ;  in  Eng 
land  the  proportion  is  6.4 ;  in  Scotland  9.9 ;  in  other 
words,  England  is  nearly  twice,  and  Scotland  nearly 
thrice  worse,  than  Ireland.  Something  worse  has  to 
be  added,  from  which  no  consolation  can  be  derived. 
The  proportion  of  illegitimacy  is  very  unequally 
distributed  over  Ireland,  and  the  inequality  rather 
humbling  to  us  as  Protestants,  and  still  more  aa 
Presbyterians  and  Scotchmen.  Taking  Ireland  ac 
cording  to  the  registration  divisions,  the  proportion 
of  illegitimate  births  varies  from  6.2  to  1.3.  The 
division  showing  this  lowest  figure  is  the  western, 
being  substantially  the  Province  of  Connaught, 
where  about  uineteeu-twentieths  of  the  population 
are  Celtic  and  Roman  Catholic.  The  division  show 
ing  the  highest  proportion  of  illegitimacy  is  the 
north-eastern,  which  comprises,  or  almost  consists  of, 
the  province  of  Ulster,  where  the  population  is  almost 
36* 


426  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

equally  divided  between  Protestants  and  Roman 
Catholics,  and  where  the  great  majority  of  Protes 
tants  are  of  Scotch  blood,  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  The  sum  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  semi- 
Presbyterian  and  semi-Scotch  Ulster  is  fully  three 
times  more  immoral  than  wholly  Popish  and  wholly 
Irish  Connaught —  which  corresponds  with  wonder- 
ful  accuracy  to  the  more  general  fact  that  Scotland, 
as  a  whole,  is  three  times  more  immoral  than  Ireland 
as  a  whole." 

It  is  worthy,  too,  of  notice,  that  in  the  tabular 
statement  above  presented,  the  percentage  of  ille 
gitimacy  in  Holland  and  Switzerland,  where  there 
are  large  Catholic  minorities,  is  lower  than  in  any 
other  Protestant  country. 

We  have  at  hand  evidences,  furnished  by  Protes 
tant  writers,  of  the  hideous  immoralities  of  certain 
European  nations  that  are  more  thoroughly  Prot 
estantized  than  England  itself.  Thus,  Mr.  Laiug 
writes:  "Of  the  2,714  children  born  in  Stockholm, 
1,577  were  legitimate,  1,137  illegitimate;  making 
only  a  balance  of  440  chaste  mothers  out  of  2,714 ; 
and  the  proportion  of  illegitimate  to  legitimate 
children  not  as  one  to  two  and  three-tenths,  but 
as  one  to  one  and  a  half."  —  A  Tour  in  Sweden  in 
1838. 

But  we  are  not  disposed  to  parade  these  monstrous 
vices,  no  matter  by  whom  committed.  We  allude 
to  them  with  feelings  of  shame,  not  of  pleasure;  and 
give  them  a  passing  notice  merely  in  self-defence 


INDULGENCES.  427 

against  the  gratuitous  assertions  of  our  adversaries. 
We  certainly  do  not  wish  to  excuse  or  palliate  the 
evil  de^ds  of  Catholics,  who,  with  all  the  blessed 
aids  which  their  religion  affords,  ought  to  be  much 
better  than  they  are.  Yet  we  will  add,  quoting  the 
words  of  the  Catholic  World:  "If  we  are  not  very 
much  better  than  our  neighbors,  we  are  not  any 
worse ;  and  are  not  to  be  hounded  down  with  the 
cry  of  vice  and  immorality  by  a  set  of  Pharisees 
who  are  constantly  lauding  their  own  superiority, 
and  thanking  God  they  are  so  much  better  than  we 
poor  Catholics." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

INDULGENCES. 

rPHERE  are  few  tenets  of  the  Catholic  Church 
J-  so  little  understood,  or  so  grossly  misrepresented 
by  her  adversaries,  as  her  doctrine  regarding  In 
dulgences. 

One  of  the  reasons  of  the  popular  misapprehen 
sion  of  an  Indulgence,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  change 
which  the*  meaning  of  that  term  has  gradually  un 
dergone.  The  word  Indulgence  originally  signified 
favor,  remission,  or forgiveness.  Now,  it  is  commonly 
used  in  the  sense  of  unlawful  gratification,  and  of 
free  scope  to  the  passions.  Hence,  when  some  igno 
rant  or  prejudiced  persons  hear  of  the  Church  grant- 


428  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

ing  an  Indulgence,  the  idea  of  license  to  sin  is  at 
once  presented  to  their  minds. 

An  Indulgence  is  simply  a  remission  in  whole  or 
in  part,  through  the  superabundant  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  saints,  of  the  temporal  punishment 
due  to  God  on  account  of  sin,  after  the  guilt  and 
eternal  punishment  have  been  remitted. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  even  after  our 
guilt  is  removed,  there  often  remains  some  temporal 
punishment  to  be  undergone,  either  in  this  life  or 
the  next,  as  an  expiation  to  divine  sanctity  and 
justice.  The  Holy  Scripture  furnishes  us  with  many 
examples  of  this  truth.  Mary,  the  sister  of  Moses, 
was  pardoned  the  siii  which  she  had  committed  by 
murmuring  against  her  brother.  Nevertheless,  God 
inflicted  on  her  the  penalty  of  leprosy  and  of  seven 
days'  separation  from  the  people.1 

Nathan,  the  prophet,  announced  to  David  that 
his  crimes  were  forgiven,  but  that  he  should  suffer 
many  chastisements  from  the  hand  of  God.2 

That  our  Lord  has  given  to  the  Church  the  power 
of  granting  Indulgences,  is  clearly  deduced  from  the 
Sacred  Text.  To  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  He 
said  :  "  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall 
be  bound  also  in  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  £hou  shalt 
loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven." 
And  to  all  the  Apostles  assembled  together  He 
made  the  same  solemn  declaration.4  By  these  words 

1  Num.  xii.  a  II.  Kings  xii.          8  Matt.  xvi.  19. 

4  Ibid,  xviii.  18. 


INDULGENCES.  429 

our  Saviour  empowered  His  Church  to  deliver  her 
children  (if  properly  disposed)  from  every  obstacle 
that  might  retard  them  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Now  there  are  two  impediments  that  withhold  a  man 
from  the  heavenly  kingdom,  —  sin,  and  the  temporal 
punishment  incurred  by  it.  And  the  Church  having 
power  to  remit  the  greater  obstacle,  which  is  sin,  has 
power  also  to  remove  the  smaller  obstacle,  which  is 
the  temporal  punishment  due  on  account  of  it. 

The  prerogative  of  granting  Indulgence  has  been 
exercised  by  the  teachers  of  the  Church  from  the 
beginning  of  her  existence. 

St.  Paul  exercised  it  in  behalf  of  the  incestuous 
Corinthian  whom  he  had  condemned  to  a  severe 
penance  proportioned  to  his  guilt,. "  that  his  spirit 
might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord."1  And 
having  learned  afterwards  of  the  Corinthian's  fervent 
contrition,  the  Apostle  absolves  him  from  the  penance 
which  he  had  imposed  :  "  To  him,  that  is  such  a  one, 
this  rebuke  is  sufficient,  which  is  given  by  many. 
So  that  contrariwise  you  should  rather  pardon  and 
comfort  him,  lest,  perhaps,  such  a  one  be  swallowed 

up  with  over-much  sorrow And  to  whom  you 

have  pardoned  anything,  I  also.  For,  what  I  have 
pardoned,  if  I  have  pardoned  anything,  for  your 
mkes  I  have  done  it,  in  the  person  of  Christ." 2 

Here  we  have  all  the  elements  that  constitute 
an  Indulgence.  1.  A  penance,  or  temporal  punish 
ment  proportioned  to  the  gravity  of  the  offence, 

~»  I.  Cor.  v.  5.  8  II.  Cor.  ii.  6-10. 


430  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

IB  imposed  011  the  transgressor.  2.  The  penitent  is 
truly  contrite  for  his  crime.  3.  This  determines  the 
Apostle  to  remit  the  penalty.  4.  The  Apostle  con 
siders  the  relaxation  of  the  penance  ratified  by  Jesus 
Christ,  in  whose  name  it  is  imparted. 

We  find  the  Bishops  of-  the  Church,  after  the 
Apostle,  wielding  this  same  power.  No  one  disputes 
the  right,  which  they  claimed  from  the  very  first 
ages,  of  inflicting  canonical  penances  on  grievous 
criminals,  who  were  subjected  to  long  fasts,  severe 
abstinences,  and  other  mortifications  for  a  period  ex 
tending  from  a  few  days  to  five  or  ten  years,  and 
even  to  a  lifetime,  according  to  the  gravity  of  the 
offence.  These  penalties  were,  in  several  instances, 
mitigated  or  cancelled  by  the  Church,  according  to 
her  discretion.  For  a  society  which  can  inflict  a 
punishment  can  also  remit  it.  And  our  Lord  gave 
His  Church  power  not  only  to  bind,  but  also  to 
loose.  This  discretionary  prerogative  was  often 
exercised  by  the  Church  at  the  intercession  of  those 
who  were  condemned  to  martyrdom,  when  the 
penitents  themselves  gave  strong  marks  of  fervent 
sorrow,  as  we  learn  from  the  writings  of  Tertullian 
and  Cyprian. 

The  General  Council  of  Nice,  and  other  Synods, 
authorize  the  Bishops  to  mitigate,  or  even  to  remit 
altogether,  the  public  penances,  whenever,  in  their 
judgment,  the  penitent  manifested  special  marks  of 
repentance.  Now,  in  relaxing  the  canonical  penances, 
or  in  substituting  for  them  a  milder  satisfaction,  tho 


INDULGENCES.  431 

Bishops  granted  what  we  call  an  Indulgence.  And 
this  sentence  of  remission  on  the  part  of  the  Bishopg 
was  valid  not  only  in  the  sight  of  the  Church,  but 
also  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  although  the  Church 
imposes  canonical  penances  no  longer,  God  has  never 
ceased  to  inflict  temporal  punishment  for  sin.  Hence 
Indulgences  continue  to  be  necessary  now,  if  not  as 
a  substitute  for  canonical  penances,  at  least  as  a 
mild  and  merciful  payment  of  the  temporal  debt 
due  to  God. 

An  Indulgence  is  called  plenary  or  partial,  accord 
ing  as  it  remits  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  temporal 
punishment  due  to  sin.  An  Indulgence  for  instance, 
of  forty  days,  remits,  before  God,  so  much  of  the 
temporal  punishment  as  would  have  been  expiated 
in  the  primitive  Church  by  a  canonical  penance  of 
forty  days. 

Although  the  very  name  of  Indulgences  is  now  so 
repugnant  to  our  dissenting  brethren,  there  was  a 
time  when  the  Protestant  church  professed  to  grant 
them.  In  the  canons  of  the  church  of  England, 
reference  is  made  to  Indulgences,  and  to  the  disposi 
tion  which  is  to  be  made  of  the  money  paid  for  them.1 

1  Articuli  pro  Clero,  A.  D.  1584.  Sparrow,  194.  I  admit, 
indeed,  that  Protestant  canons  have  but  a  fleeting  and  ephem 
eral  authority  even  among  themselves,  and  that  the  canons 
must  yield  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  not  the  times  to  the 
canons.  I  dare  say  that  even  few  Protestant  theologians  arc 
familiar  with  the  canons  to  which  1  have  referred.  Some 
people  have  a  convenient  faculty  of  Forgetting  unpleasant 
traditions 


432  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

From  what  I  have  said,  you  may  judge  for  your 
self  what  to  think  of  those  who  say  that  an  Indul 
gence  is  the  remission  of  past  sins,  or  a  license  to 
commit  sin  granted  by  the  Pope  as  a  spiritual  com 
pensation  to  the  faithful  for  pecuniary  offerings 
made  to  him.  I  need  not  inform  you  that  an  Indul 
gence  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  It  is  not  a 
remission  of  sin,  since  no  one  can  gain  an  Indulgence 
until  he  is  already  free  from  sin.  It  is  still  less  a 
license  to  commit  sin  ;  for  every  Catholic  child  knows 
that  neither  Priest,  nor  Bishop,  nor  Pope,  nor  even 
God  Himself —  with  all  reverence  be  it  said  —  can 
give  any  license  to  commit  the  smallest  fault. 

But  are  not  Indulgences  at  variance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel,  since  they  appear  to  be  a  mild 
and  feeble  substitute  for  alms-giving,  fasts,  absti 
nences,  and  other  penitential  austerities,  which  Jesus 
Christ  inculcated  and  practised,  and  which  the  primi 
tive  Church  enforced? 

The  Church  never  exempts  her  children  from  the 
obligation  of  doing  works  of  penance,  as  every  one 
must  know  who  is  acquainted  with  her  history. 

No  one  can  deny  that  the  practices  of  mortifica 
tion  are  more  frequent  among  Catholics  than  among 
Protestants.  Where  will  you  find  the  evangelical 
duty  of  fasting  enforced,  if  not  from  the  Catholic 
pulpit?  And  it  is  well  known  that,  among  the 
members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  those  who  avail 
themselves  of  the  boon  of  Indulgences  are  usually 
her  most  practical,  edifying,  and  fervent  children 


INDULGENCES.  433 

And  their  spiritual  growth,  tar  from  being  retarded, 
is  quickened  by  the  aid  of  Indulgences,  which  are 
usually  accompanied  by  acts  of  contrition,  devotion, 
and  self-denial,  and  by  the  reception  of  the  Sacra 
ments. 

But,  do  what  we  will,  we  cannot  please  our  oppo 
nents.  If  we  fast  and  give  alms ;  if  we  crucify  our 
flesh,  and  make  pilgrimages  and  perform  other  works 
of  penance,  we  are  accused  of  clinging  to  the  rags 
of  dead  works,  instead  of  "holding  on  to  Jesus"  by 
fnith.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  enrich  our  souls 
with  the  treasures  of  Indulgences,  we  are  charged 
with  relying  on  the  vicarious  merits  of  others, 
pnd  of  lightening  too  much  the  salutary  burden  of 
the  cross.  And  how  can  Protestants  consistently 
and  fault  with  the  Church  for  mitigating  the  auster 
ities  of  penance,  since  their  own  fundamental  prin 
ciple  rests  on  faith  alone  without  good  works  f 

But  have  not  Indulgences  been  the  occasion  of 
many  abuses  at  various  times,  particularly  in  the 
sixteenth  century? 

I  will  not  deny  that  Indulgences  have  been 
abused  ;  but  are  not  the  most  sacred  things  liable  to 
be  perverted  ?  This  is  a  proper  place  to  refer  briefly 
to  the  Bull  of  Pope  Leo  X.  proclaiming  the  Indul 
gence  which  afforded  Luther  a  pretext  for  his  apos- 
tacy.  Lee  determined  to  bring  to  completion  the 
magnificent  church  of  St.  Peter,  commenced  by  his 
predecessor  Julius  II.,  and  with  that  view  he  issued 
a  Bull  promulgating  an  Indulgence  to  such  as  would 
37  2C 


434  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

contribute  some  voluntary  offering  towards  the  ereo 
tion  of  the  grand  cathedral.  Those,  however,  who 
contributed  nothing,  shared  equally  in  the  treasury 
of  the  Church,  provided  they  complied  with  the  es 
sential  conditions  for  gaining  the  Indulgence.  The 
only  indispensable  conditions  enjoined  by  the  Papri 
Bull,  were  sincere  repentance  and  confession  of  sins. 
D'Aubigue  admits  this  truth,  though  in  a  faltering 
manner,  when  he  observes  that  "  in  the  Pope's  Bull 
something  was  said  of  the  repentance  of  the  heart, 
and  the  confession  of  the  lips." 1  The  applicants  cor 
the  Indulgence  knew  well  that,  no  matter  how  mu 
nificent  were  their  offerings,  these  would  avail  them 
nothing  without  true  contrition  of  heart. 

Consequently,  no  traffic  or  sale  of  Indulgences  was 
authorized  or  countenanced  by  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  since  the  contributions  were  understood  to 
be  voluntary.  And,  in  order  to  check  any  sordid 
love  of  gain  in  those  who  were  charged  with  preach 
ing  the  Indulgence,  "  the  hand  that  delivered  the 
Indulgence,"  as  D'Aubigne  testifies,  "  could  not 
receive  the  money :  that  was  forbidden  under  the 
severest  penalties." 2 

Wherein,  then,  was  the  conduct  of  the  Pope  repre 
hensible?  Certainly  not  in  soliciting  the  donations 
of  the  faithful  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  te;nple 
of  worship,  a  temple  which  to-day  stands  unrivalled 
in  majesty  and  beauty ! 

1  Vol.  I.,  p.  214.  a  .'bid. 


INDULGENCES.  435 

But  them  of  temples  old,  or  altars  new, 

Standest  alone,  with  nothing  like  to  thee . 

Worthiest  of  God,  the  holy  and  the  true, 

Since  Sion's  desolation,  when  that  He 

Forsook  His  former  city,  what  could  be 

Of  earthly  structures,  in  His  honor  piled, 

Of  a  sublimer  aspect?     Majesty, 

Power,  Glory,  Strength,  and  Beauty,  all  are  aisled 

In  this  eternal  ark  of  worship  undeliled."  l 

If  Moses  was  justified  in  appealing  to  the  Hebrew 
people,  in  the  Old  Law,  for  offerings  to  adorn  the 
tabernacle,  why  should  not  the  Pope  be  equally 
justified  in  appealing  for  similar  offerings  to  the 
Christian  people,  among  whom  he  exercises  supreme 
authority  as  Moses  did  among  the  Israelites? 

"Nor  did  the  Pope  exceed  his  legitimate  powers  in 
promising  to  the  pious  donors  spiritual  favors  in  ex 
change  for  their  donations.  For,  if  our  sins  can  be 
redeemed  by  alms  to  the  poor,2  as  the  Scripture  tells 
us,  why  not  as  well  by  offerings  in  the  cause  of  re 
ligion?  When  Protestant  ministers  appeal  to  their 
congregations  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  their 
children,  or  in  support  of  a  church,  they  do  not  fail 
to  hold  out  to  their  hearers  spiritual  blessings  in 
reward  for  their  gifts.  It  is  not  long  since  a  Meth 
odist  parson  of  New  York  addressed  these  sacred 
words  to  Cornelius  Vauderbilt,  the  millionaire,  who 
had  endowed  a  Methodist  college:  "Cornelius,  thy 
prayer  is  heard,  and  thy  alms  are  had  in  remem- 

1  Byron.  a  Daniel  iv.  24. 


436  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

brance  in  the  sight  of  God."  l  The  minister  is  more 
indulgent  than  even  the  Pope,  to  whom  were  given 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  for,  the  minister 
declares  Cornelius  absolved  without  the  preliminary 
of  Confession  or  contrition,  while  even,  according  to 
D'Aubigne,  the  inflexible  Pope  insisted  on  the  neces 
sity  of  "  repentance  of  the  heart,  and  Confession  of 
the  lips,"  before  the  donor's  offering  could  avail  him 
to  salvation. 

John  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk,  who  was  ap 
pointed  the  chief  preacher  to  announce  the  Indul 
gence  in  Germany,  was  accused,  by  Luther,  of  ex 
ceeding  his  powers  by  making  them  subservient  to 
his  own  private  ends.  Tetzel's  conduct  was  dis 
avowed  and  condemned  by  the  representative  of  the 
Holy  See.  The  Council  of  Trent,  which  was  held 
some  time  afterwards,  took  effectual  measures  to  put 
a  stop  to  all  irregularities  regarding  Indulgences, 
and  issued  the  following  decree :  "  Wishing  to  cor 
rect  and  amend  the  abuses  which  have  crept  into 
them,  and  on  occasion  of  which,  .this  signal  name  of 
Indulgences  is  blasphemed  by  heretics,  the  holy 
Synod  enjoins  in  general,  by  the  present  decree,  that 
all  wicked  traffic  for  obtaining  them,  which  has  been 
the  fruitful  source  of  many  abuses  among  the  Chris 
tian  people,  should  be  wholly  abolished."  2 

1  Acts  x  31  *  Sess.  xxv.    Dec.  de  Indulgentiis. 


EXTREME   UNCTION.  437 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

EXTREME   UNCTION. 

OXTREME  Unction  is  a  Sacrament  in  which  the 
•LJ  sick,  by  being  anointed  with  holy  oil,  and  by 
the  prayers  of  the  priests,  receive  spiritual  succor, 
and  even  corporal  strength  when  it  is  conducive  to 
their  salvation.  This  unction  is  called  Extreme, 
because  it  is  usually  the  last  of  the  holy  unctions 
administered  by  the  Church. 

The  Apostle  St.  James  clearly  refers  to  this  Sacra 
ment,  and  points  out  its  efficacy  in  the  following 
words :  "  Is  any  man  sick  amoug  you;  let  him  bring 
in  the  priests  of  the  Church,  and  let  them  pray  over 
him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick 
man  ;  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up;  and  if  he 
be  in  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him."  l 

Several  of  the  ancient  Fathers  allude  to  this  Sac 
rament.  Origen  (third  century)  writes:  "There  is 
also  a  remission  of  sins  through  penitence,  when  the 
sinner  ...  is  not  ashamed  to  declare  his  sin  to  the 
priest  of  the  Lord,  and  to  seek  a  remedy  .  .  . 
wherein  that  also  is  fulfilled  which  the  Apostle 
James  saith  :  'But  if  any  be  sick  among  you,  let  him 
call  in  the  priests  of  the  Church,  and  let  them  impose 
hands  on  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.'"* 

1  Janres  v.  14,  15.  *  Honril  ii.  in  Levit 

37* 


438  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

St.  Chrysostora  (fourth  century)  says  :  "  Not  only 
when  they  (the  priests)  regenerate  us,  but  they 
have  also  power  to  forgive  sins  committed  after 
wards  ;  for  he  says :  '  Is  any  man  sick  among  you ; 
let  him  call  in  the  priests  of  the  Church,  and  let 
them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.'  "  l 

Pope  Innocent  I.  (fifth  century),  in  a  letter  to 
a  bishop  named  Decentius,  after  quoting  the  words 
of  St.  James,  proceeds :  "  These  words,  there  is  no 
doubt,  ought  to  be  understood  of  the  faithful  who 
are  sick,  who  can  be  anointed  with  the  holy  oil, 
which,  having  been  prepared  by  a  bishop,  may  be 
used  not  only  for  priests,  but  for  all  Christians." a 

The  Sacramentary,  or  ancient  Roman  Ritual,  re 
vised  by  Pope  St.  Gregory  in  the  sixth  century, 
prescribes  the  blessing  of  oil  by  the  bishop,  and  the 
prayers  to  be  recited  in  the  anointing  of  the  sick. 

The  venerable  Bede  of  England,  who  lived  in  the 
eighth  century,  referring  to  the  words  of  St.  James, 
writes:  "The  custom  of  the  Church  requires  that 
the  sick  be  anointed  by  the  priests  with  consecrated 
oil  and  be  sanctified  by  the  prayer  which  accom 
panies  it."  * 

The  Greek  church,  which  separated  from  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  ninth  century,  says 
in  its  profession  of  faith :  "  The  seventh  Sacrament 
is  Extreme  Unction,  prescribed  by  Christ ;  for,  aftei 

1  Lib.  iii.  de  Sacerd.  *  Epist.  xxv.  ad  Decentum. 

8  Comment  in  locum. 

f  \ 


EXTREME   UXCTION.  439 

He  had  begun  to  send  His  disciples  two  and  two, 
(Mark  vi.  7-13,)  they  anointed  and  healed  many, 
which  unction  the  Church  has  since  maintained  by 
pious  usage,  as  we  learn  from  the  Epistle  of  St. 
James :  '  Is  any  man  sick  among  you,'  etc.  The 
fruits  proper  to  this  Sacrament,  as  St.  James  de 
clares,  are  the  remission  of  sins,  health  of  soul 
strength,  in  fine,  of  body.  But  though  it  does  not 
always  produce  this  last  result,  it  always  at  least 
restores  the  soul  to  a  better  state,  by  the  forgiveness 
of  sins."  This  is  precisely  the  Catholic  teaching  on 
this  subject.  All  the  other  Oriental  churches,  some 
of  which  separated  from  Rome  in  the  fifth  century, 
likewise  enumerate  Extreme  Unction  among  their 
Sacraments. 

Such  identity  of  doctrine  proclaimed  during  so 
many  ages,  by  churches  so  wide  apart,  can  have  no 
other  than  an  Apostolic  origin. 

The  eminent  Protestant  Leibnitz  makes  this 
candid  admission :  "  There  is  no  room  for  much 
discussion  regarding  the  unction  of  the  sick.  It  is 
supported  by  the  words  of  Scripture,  the  interpreta 
tion  of  the  Church,  in  which  pious  and  Catholic 
men  safely  confide.  Nor  do  I  see  what  any  one  can 
find  reprehensible  in  that  practice  which  the  Church 
accepts." l 

Protestants,  though  professing  to  be  guided  by  the 
Holy  Scripture,  entirely  disregard  the  admonition 

1  Systema  Theol.,  p.  280. 


440  THE   FAITTT  OF   OUR    FATHERS. 

of  St.  James.  Luther  acted  v/ith  more  consistency 
Finding  that  the  injunction  of  the  Apostle  was  too 
plain  to  be  explained  away  by  subtlety  of  words,  he 
boldly  rejected  the  entire  Epistle,  which  he  con 
temptuously  styled  "  a  letter  of  straw."  l 

It  is  sad  to  think  that  our  separated  brethren 
discard  this  consoling  instrument  of  grace,  though 
pressed  upon  them  by  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
for,  surely  a  spiritual  medicine  which  diminishes 
the  terrors  of  death,  comforts  the  dying  Christian, 
fortifies  the  soul  in  its  final  struggle,  and  purifies  it 
for  its  passage  from  time  to  eternity,  should  be 
gratefully  and  eagerly  availed  of,  especially  when 
prescribed  by  an  inspired  Physician. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE    PRIESTHOOD. 

THE  Apostles  were  clothed  with  the  powers  of 
Jesus  Christ.     The  Priest,  as  the  successor  of 
the  Apostles,  is  clothed  with  their  power.     This  fact 
reveals   to   us  the  eminent  dignity  of  the  priestly 
character. 

The  exalted  dignity  of  the  Priest  is  derived  not 
from  the  personal  merits  for  which  he  may  be  con 
spicuous,  but  from  the  sublime  functions  which 

1  Lib.  de  Captiv.  Babyl. 


THE   PRIESTHOOD.  441 

he  is  charged  to  perform.  To  the  carnal  eye,  the 
Priest  looks  like  other  men,  but  to  the  eye  of  faith, 
he  is  exalted  above  the  angels,  because  he  exercises 
powers  not  given  even  to  angels. 

The  Priest  is  the  ambassador  of  God,  appointed 
to  vindicate  His  honor  and  to  proclaim  His  glory 
u  We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  says  the  Apostle ; 
"  God,  as  it  were,  exhorting  by  us." l  If  it  is 
esteemed  a  great  privilege  for  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  to  represent  our  country  in  any  of  the  courts 
of  Europe,  how  much  greater  is  the  prerogative  to 
represent  the  court  of  heaven  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth !  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,"  says  our 
Lord  to  His  Apostles,  "  I  also  send  you." 2  "  Going, 
therefore,  teach  ye  all  nations,  ....  teaching  them 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you.  And,  behold,  I  am  with  you  all  days,  even  to 
the  consummation  of  the  world." 8  The  j urisdiction 
of  earthly  representatives  is  limited,  but  the  au 
thority  of  the  ministers  of  God  extends  over  the 
whole  earth.  "Go  ye  into  the  whole  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel,"  says  Christ,  "to  every  crea 
ture."4 

Not  only  does  Jesus  empower  His  ministers  to 
preach  in  His  name,  but  He  commands  their  hearers 
to 'listen  and  obey.  "Whosoever  will  not  receive 
you,  nor  hear  your  words,  going  forth  from  that 
house  or  city,  shake  off  the  dust  from  your  leet. 

1 II.  Cor.  v.  20.     2  John  xx.  21.     3  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 
*  Mark  xvi.  15. 


442  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Amen,  I  say  to  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  foi 
the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  in  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  than  for  that  city."1  "He  that  heareth  you, 
heareth  Me;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiset.h 
Me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him  that 
gent  Me." 2 

God  requires  not  only  that  His  Gospel  should  be 
heard  with  reverence,  but  that  the  persons  of  His 
Apostles  should  be  honored.  And  as  no  greater 
insult  can  be  offered  to  a  nation  than  to  insult  its 
representative  at  a  foreign  court,  so  no  greater  injury 
can  be  offered  to  our  Lord  than  to  do  violence  to 
His  representatives,  the  Priests  of  His  Church. 
"  Touch  not  My  anointed,  and  do  no  evil  to  My 
prophets."  *  God  avenged  the  crime  of  two  and  forty 
boys  who  mocked  the  prophet  Eliseus,  by  sending 
wild  beasts  that  tore  them  in  pieces.  And  the  fright 
ful  death  of  Maria  Monk,  the  calumniator  of  con 
secrated  Priests  and  Virgins,  who  ended  her  life  a 
drunken  maniac  on  Blackwell's  Island,  proves  that 
our  religious  institutions  are  not  to  be  mocked  with 
impunity. 

When  an  ambassador  is  accredited  to  a  foreign 
court,  from  this  country,  he  is  honored  with  the  con 
fidence  of  the  President,  from  whom  he  receives  pri 
vate  instructions.  So  does  Jesus  honor  His  ambas 
sadors  with  His  friendship,  and  He  communicates 
to  them  the  secrets  of  heaven  :  "  I  will  not  now  call 
you  servants ;  for,  the  servant  kuoweth  not  what  hia 

1  Matt.  x.  14,  15         3  Luke  x.  16.        3  Paralip.  xvi.  22. 


THE   PRIESTHOOD.  443 

Lord  doeth.  But  I  have  called  you  friends,  because 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  heard  of  My  Father,  I 
have  made  .known  to  you."  l 

What  a  privilege  to  be  the  herald  of  God's  law 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth :  "  How  beautiful  on 
the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth 
good  tidings,  and  that  preacheth  peace :  of  him  that 
showeth  forth  good,  that  preacheth  salvation,  that 
saith  to  Sion:  Thy  God  shall  reign."2  How 
cherished  a  favor  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  olive-branch 
of  peace  to  a  world  deluged  by  sin  ;  to  be  appointed 
by  Heaven  to  proclaim  that  Gospel  which  brings 
glory  to  God,  and  peace  to  men ;  that  Gospel 
which  strengthens  the  weak,  converts  the  sinner, 
reconciles  enemies,  and  consoles  the  afflicted  heart, 
and  holds  out  to  all  the  hope  of  eternal  salvation ! 

Not  only  are  Priests  the  ambassadors  of  God,  but 
they  are  also  the  dispensers  of  His  graces,  and  the 
almoners  of  His  mercy.  "  Let  a  man  so  regard  us," 
says  the  Apostle,  "  as  ministers  of  Christ,  and  dis 
pensers  of  the  mysteries  of  God." s 

How  can  he  be  called  a  dispenser  of  God's  mys 
teries,  whose  labors  are  confined  to  preaching?  But 
he  is  truly  a  dispenser  of  divine  mysteries  who  dis 
tributes -to  the  faithful  the  sacraments,  the  mysteri 
ous  symbols,  and  efficient  causes  of  grace. 

As  St.  John  Ghrysostom  observes,  it  was  not  to 
angels  or  archangels,  but  to  the  Priests  of  the  Is'ew 
Law  that  Christ  said  :  "  Whatsoever  you  shall  bind 

1  John  xv.  15.  2  Isaiah  lii.  7.  » I.  Cor.  iv.  1. 


444  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

on  earth,  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven;  and  what 
soever  you  shall  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  also 
in  heaven."  To  them  alone  He  gave  the  power  to 
forgive  sins,  saying:  "  Whose  sins  you  shall  forgive, 
they  are  forgiven."  To  them  alone  He  gave  the 
power  of  consecrating  His  body  and  blood,  and  dis 
pensing  the  same  to  the  faithful.  He  has  empowered 
the  Priests  of  the  New  Law  to  impart  the  grace  of 
regeneration  in  Baptism.  He  has  assigned  to  them 
the  solemn  duty  of  preparing  the  dying  Christian 
for  his  final  journey  to  eternity  :  "  Is  any  man  sick 
among  you  ?  Let  him  bring  in  the  priests  of  the 
Church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him 
with  oil,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  1 

As  far  as  heaven  is  above  earth,  as  eternity  is 
above  time,  and  the  soul  is  above  the  body,  so  far 
are  the  prerogatives  vested  in  God's  ministers  higher 
than  those  of  any  earthly  potentate.  An  earthly 
prince  can  cast  into  prison  or  release  therefrom. 
But  his  power  is  over  the  body.  He  cannot  pene 
trate  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  soul.  But  the  minister 
of  God  can  release  the  soul  from  the  prison  of  sin, 
and  restore  it  to  the  liberty  of  a  child  of  God. 

To  sum  up  in  one  sentence  the  titles  of  a  Cath 
olic  Priest : 

He  is  a  king,  reigning  not  over  unwilling  subjects, 
but  over  the  hearts  and  affections  of  his  people. 

He  is  a  shepherd,  because  he  leads  his  flock  into 
the  delicious  pastures  of  the  sacraments,  and  shelters 
1  James  v.  14. 


THE  PRIESTHOOD.  443 

them    from   the  wolves   that   lie   in  wait  for  their 
souls. 

He  is  a  father,  because  he  breaks  the  bread  of  life 
to  his  spiritual  children,  whom  he  has  begotten  in 
Christ  Jesus  through  the  Gospel.1 

He  is  a  judge,  whose  office  it  is  to  pass  sentence 
of  pardon  on  self-accusing  criminals. 

He  is  a  physician,  because  he  heals  their  souls 
from  the  loathsome  distempers  of  sin. 

St.  John,  in  his  Apocalypse,  represents  the  Church 
under  the  figure  of  a  city.  "  I  saw  the  holy  city,  the 
new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  heaven,  from  God, 
prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband."1 
Our  Saviour  is  the  Architect  and  Founder  of  this 
celestial  city.  The  Apostles  are  its  foundation. 
The  faithful  are  the  living  stones  of  the  edifice. 
The  anointed  ministers  of  the  Lord  are  the  work 
men  chosen  to  adjust  and  polish  these  stones,  that 
they  may  reflect  the  beauty  and  glory  of  the  sun  of 
justice  that  perpetually  illumines  this  city.  The 
Priests  are  engaged  in  adorning  the  interior  of  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  by  enriching,  with  virtue,  the 
precious  souls  entrusted  to  their  charge.  "  God  gave 
some,  indeed,  Apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  others 
Evangelists,  and  others  pastors  and  doctors,  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
for  the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ,"8  which 
is  His  Church.  What  an  honor  is  this  to  the  Priest 

1 1.  Cor.  iv  15.  2  Apoc.  xii.  2. 

»  Eph.  iv.  11, 12. 


446  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

of  the  New  Law !  Surely  God  "hatli  not  done  alike 
to  every  nation,  and  His  judgments  He  bath  not 
made  manifest  to  them." l 

With  how  much  more  force  may  we  apply  to  the 
successors  of  the  Apostles  ;  the  words  which  God 
epoke  to  tfhe  Priests  of  the  Old  Law :  "  Hear,  ye 
eons  of  Levi.  Is  it  a  small  thing  unto  you,  that  the 
God  of  Israel  hath  separated  you  from  all  the 
people,  and  joined  you  to  Himself,  that  ye  should 
serve  Him  in  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  and 
should  stand  before  the  congregation  of  the  people, 
and  minister  unto  Him  ?  " 

Our  Saviour  affectionately  puts  this  question  three 
times  to  Peter:  "Simon,  lovest  thou  Me?"  And 
three  times  Peter  answers  Him,  "  Lord,  Thou  know- 
est  that  I  love  Thee."  What  proof  of  love  does 
then  Jesus  exact  of  Peter?  Does  He  say :  If  thou 
lovest  Me,  chastise  thy  body  by  fasting  and  stripes, 
prophesy,  work  miracles,  lay  down  thy  life  for  Me? 
No,  but  "  feed  My  lambs,"  "  feed  My  sheep."  This 
was  to  be  the  closest  bond  of  Peter's  devotion  to  his 
Master,  and  of  the  Master's  affection  for  His  dis 
ciple. 

And  our  Lord  declares  that  the  reward  of  His 
disciples  would  be  commensurate  with  the  dignity 
of  their  ministry :  "  Behold,"  says  Peter,  "  we  have 
left  all  things  and  have  followed  Thee.  What, 
therefore,  shall  we  have  ?  And  Jesus  said  to  them, 
Ainen,  I  say  to  you  that  you  who  have  followed  Me, 

1  Ps.  cxlvii.  20. 


THE    PRIESTHOOD.  447 

in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  ait 
on  the  seat  of  His  majesty,  you  shall  also  sit  on 
twelve  seats,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 
And  immediately  after,  He  adds  that  the  worthy 
successors  of  the  Apostles  shall  share  in  their  felicity; 
"  And  every  one  that  hath  left  house,  or  brethren, 
or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children, 
or  lands  for  My  name's  sake,  shall  receive  a  hun 
dred-fold,  and  shall  possess  life  everlasting."1 

I  know  that  there  are  many  in  our  days  who  deny 
that  Priests  possess  any  spiritual  power,  as  if  God 
could  not  communicate  such  power  to  men.  I  un 
derstand  why  atheists  and  rationalists,  who  reject  all 
revelation,  should  deny  all  supernatural  authority 
to  the  ministers  of  God.  But  that  professing  Chris 
tians,  who  accept  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  should 
share  in  this  unbelief,  passes  my  comprehension. 

Has  not  the  Almighty,  in  numberless  instances 
recorded  in  Holy  Writ,  made  man  the  instrument 
of  His  power?  Did  not  Moses  convert  the  rivers 
of  Egypt  into  blood?  Did  he  not  cause  water  to 
issue  from  the  barren  rock  ?  Did  not  the  prophets 
predict  future  events  ?  Did  not  the  sun  stop  in  the 
heavens,  at  the  command  of  Josue  ?  Did  not  Eliseus, 
the  prophet,  raise  the  dead  to  life?  Why  do  we 
believe  all  these  prodigies  ?  Because  the  Scriptures 
record  them.  Does  not  the  same  Word  of  God  de 
clare  that  the  Apostles  received  power  to  confer  the 
Holy  Ghost  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  to  forgive 

1  Matt.  xix.  27-29. 


448  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

sins,  to  consecrate  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  etc. . 
And  is  not  the  New  Testament  as  worthy  of  belief 
as  the  Old  ?  Has  not  Jesus  Christ  solemnly  promised 
to  be  always  with  the  ministers  of  His  Church,  "  even 
to  the  consummation  of  the  world,"  strengthening 
them  to  repeat  those  miracles  of  mercy  that  were 
wrought  by  His  first  M isciples  ?  Can  the  God  of 
truth  be  unfaithful  to  His  promises?  Is  He  not  as 
strong  and  merciful  now  as  He  was  in  the  days  of 
the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  and  are  not  we  as  much 
in  need  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  primitive  Chris 
tians  were?  And  if  God  could  then  make  feeble 
men  the  ministers  of  His  mercy,  why  not  now? 

But  should  a  Priest  consider  himself  greater  than 
other  men,  because  he  exercises  such  authority? 
Far  from  it;  he  ought  to  humble  himself  beneath 
others  when  he  reflects  to  what  weak  hands  God 
assigns  such  tremendous  power.  He  should  remem 
ber  what  our  Saviour  said  to  the  seventy-two  disci > 
pies  who,  returning  with  joy  from  their  first  mission, 
cried  out  to  Him :  "  Lord,  even  the  devils  are  sub 
ject  to  us  in  Thy  name."  But  Jesus  checked  their 
vainglory,  saying :  "  I  saw  Satan  like  lightning  fall 
from  heaven.  Behold,  I  have  given  you  power, .  .  . 
but  rejoice  not  in  this,  that  spirits  are  subject  to  you ; 
but  rejoice  in  this,  that  your  names  are  written  in 
heaven." l  The  Priest  does  not  forget  that  "  the  most 
severe  judgment  shall  be  for  them  that  bear  rule,"' 
and  "that  judgment  should  begin  at  the  house  of 

1  Luke  x.  18,  20  *  Wisd.  vi.  6. 


THE    PRIESTHOOD.  449 

God." !  The  words  of  the  Apostle  are  present  to 
his  mind :  "  What  hast  tliou  that  thou  hast  not 
received?  And  if  thou  hast  received,  why  dost 
thou  glory  as  if  thou  hadst  not  received  it?"2  As 
well  might  the  vessel  which  is  filled  with  precious 
liquor,  boast  on  that  account  of  being  superior  to 
the  vessel  which  is  filled  with  water.  The  Priest 
knows  full  well  that  the  powers  he  has  received 
from  God  are  given  to  him  not  to  feed  his  own  van 
ity,  but  to  enrich  the  hearts  of  the  faithful ;  and  that 
though  he  may  be  instrumental  in  pointing  out  to 
others  the  way  to  heaven,  he  himself  will  become  a 
reprobate,  unless  he  is  adorned  with  personal  vir 
tues  ;  like  those  unhappy  priests  of  Jerusalem  who 
directed  the  Magi  to  Jesus  in  Bethlehem,  but  did 
not  go  thither  themselves. 

"  I  have  planted,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  Apollo 
watered,  but  God  gave  the  increase.  Therefore 
neither  he  that  planteth  is  anything,  nor  he  that 
watereth,  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase."3  We 
perform  the  outward  ceremony,  God  alone  supplies 
the  grace. 

The  obligations  of  the  minister  of  God  are,  there 
fore,  commensurate  with  his  exalted  dignity. 

The  Priest  is  required  to  be  a  man  of  profound 
learning  and  of  solid  piety.  "  The  lips  of  the  priest 
shall  keep  knowledge,  and  they  (the  people)  shall 
seek  the  law  at  his  mouth." 4  As  physician  of  the 

1  I.  Pet.  iv.  17.         2 1.  Cor.  iv.  7.          8  I.  Cor.  iii.  6,  7. 

*  Malach.  ii.  7. 
38*  2D 


450  THE    FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

Boul,  lie  must  be  conversant  with  its  various  distem 
pers,  and  must  know  what  remedy  is  to  be  applied 
in  each  particular  case.  If  society  justly  holds  the 
unskilful  physician  responsible  for  the  fatal  conse 
quences  of  his  malpractice,  surely  God  will  call  to  a 
strict  account  the  spiritual  physician  who,  through 
criminal  ignorance,  prescribes  injudicious  remedies 
to  the  souls  of  the  patients  committed  to  his  charge. 

As  judge  of  souls,  he  must  know  when  to  bind 
and  when  to  loose ;  when  to  defer  and  when  to  pro 
nounce  sentence  of  absolution.  And  if  nothing  is 
so  disastrous  to  the  republic  as  an  incompetent 
judge,  whose  decisions,  though  involving  life  and 
death,  are  rendered  at  hap-hazard,  and  not  in 
accordance  with  the  merits  of  the  case ;  so  nothing 
is  more  detrimental  to  the  Christian  commonwealth 
than  an  ignorant  priesthood,  whose  decisions  inju 
riously  affect  the  salvation  of  souls. 

The  advocate  in  our  courts  of  justice  feels  bound 
in  conscience  and  in  honor  to  study  the  case  of  his 
client  with  the  utmost  diligence,  and  to  defend  him 
before  the  jury  with  all  the  eloquence  which  he  can 
master.  And  yet  the  suit  may  not  involve  more 
than  a  brief  imprisonment  or  even  a  limited  fine. 

But  the  Priest,  like  Moses,  stands  before  God  to  in 
tercede  for  His  people,  and  stands  before  the  people 
to  advocate  the  cause  of  God.  For,  he  not  only 
ascends  daily  the  altar  to  plead  for  the  people,  and  to 
cry  out  with  the  prophet,  "Spare,  O  Lord,  spare  Thy 
people,  and  give  not  Thy  inheritance  to  reproach ; " 


THE   PRIESTHOOD.  451 

but  every  Sunday  he  mounts  the  pulpit  to  vindicate 
the  claims  which  God  has  on  His  subjects ;  and  cer 
tainly,  if  every  attorney  is  bound  to  study  his  client's 
cause  before  he  defends  it,  no  matter  how  trifling  the 
issue,  how  much  more  imperative  is  the  obligation 
of  the  Priest  to  study  well  his  case,  when  he  reflects 
that  an  immortal  soul  is  on  trial,  and  before  men 
who  are  often  the  worst  enemies  of  their  own  souls. 
He  has  to  convince  the  people  that  the  narrow  road 
is  to  be  followed,  which  their  inclinations  abhor,  and 
that  the  broad  road  is  to  be  abandoned,  which  their 
self-love  and  their  passions  tend  to  pursue.  Convic 
tion  in  this  case  requires  rare  tact  as  well  as  eloquence 
and  learning. 

But  the  minister  of  religion  has  to  defend  the  soul 
not  only  against  the  corruptions  of  the  heart,  but 
also  against  those  doctrinal  errors  which  are  daily 
springing  up  in  every  direction,  and  which  are  plausi 
bly  preached  by  false  teachers,  who  bring  to  their 
support  the  most  specious  arguments,  couched  in  the 
most  attractive  language.  To  refute  these  errors 
often  requires  the  most  consummate  skill,  and  a  pro 
found  knowledge  of  history  and  the  Holy  Scripture. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  Church  insists  that 
her  clergy  be  educated  men.  Hence  our  ecclesias 
tical  students  are  usually  obliged  to  devote  from  ten 
to  fourteen  years  to  the  diligent  study  of  the  modern 
and  ancient  languages,  of  history  and  philosophy,  and 
the  great  science  of  theology  and  the  Holy  Scripture, 
before  they  are  elevated  to  the  sacred  ministry. 


452  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

It  is  true  indeed  that,  owing  to  the  rapidly-increas 
ing  demand  for  clergy  in  the  Dnited  States,  our 
Bishops  have  hitherto  been  sometimes  compelled  to 
abridge  the  course  of  studies  of  the  candidates  for 
the  ministry ;  but  now  that  the  Church  is  more 
thoroughly  organized,  and  that  seminaries  are  mul 
tiplied  among  us,  they  are  happily  enabled  to  extend 
to  their  young  levites  the  advantages  of  a  full  term 
of  a  literary  and  theological  training. 

If  the  Priest  should  be  eminent  for  his  learning, 
he  should  be  still  more  conspicuous  for  his  virtues, 
for  he  is  expected  to  preach  more  by  example  than 
by  precept.  If  in,  the  Old  Law  God  charged  His 
priests  with  the  admonition  :  "  Be  sanctified,  ye  that 
carry  the  vessels  of  the  Lord,"1  how  much  more 
strictly  is  holiness  of  life  enjoined  on  the  Priests  of 
the  New  Dispensation,  who  not  only  touch  the  sacred 
vessels,  but  drink  from  them  the  Precious  Blood  of 
the  Lord  ? 

"  Purer,"  says  St.  Chrysostom, "  than  any  solar  ray, 
should  that  hand  be  which  divides  that  flesh,  that 
mouth  which  is  filled  with  spiritual  fire,  that  tongue 
which  is  purpled  with  that  most  awful  blood." 

In  order  to  foster  in  us  the  spirit  of  personal  piety, 
we  are  constantly  admonished  by  the  Church  to  be 
men  of  prayer.  The  Priest  should  be  like  those  an 
gels  whom  Jacob  saw  in  a  vision,  ascending  to  heaven 
and  descending  therefrom  on  the  mystical  ladder. 
He  is  expected  to  ascend  by  prayer,  and  to  descend 

1  Isaiah  lii.  11. 


CELIBACY,   ETC.  453 

by  preaching.  He  ascends  to  heaven  to  receive 
light  from  God ;  he  descends  to  communicate  that 
light  to  his  hearers.  He  ascends  to  draw  at  the 
living  Fountain  of  divine  grace  ;  he  descends  to  dif 
fuse  those  living  waters  among  the  faithful,  that  their 
hearts  may  be  refreshed.  He  ascends  to  light  his 
torch  at  the  ever-burning  furnace  of  divine  love,  and 
descends  to  communicate  the  flame  to  the  souls  of 
his  people. 

The  Church,  indeed,  considers  prayer  so  indis 
pensable  to  her  clergy,  that,  besides  the  voluntary 
exercises  of  piety  which  their  private  devotion  may 
suggest,  she  requires  them  to  devote  at  least  an  hour, 
each  day,  to  the  recitation  of  the  divine  office,  which 
chiefly  consists  of  the  Psalms  and  other  portions  of 
Holy  Scripture,  the  Homilies  of  the  early  Fathers, 
and  prayers  of  marvellous  force  and  unction. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CELIBACY    OF   THE   CLERGY. 

Church  requires  her  Priests  to  be  pure  in 
body  as  well  as  in  soul,  and  to  "  present  their 
bodies  a  living  victim,  holy,  well  -  pleasing  unto 
God." x 

Our  Saviour  and  His  Apostles,  though  recogniz 
ing  matrimony  as  a  holy  state,  have  proclaimed  the 

1  Bom.  xii.  1. 


4o4  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

superior  merits  of  voluntary  continency,  particularly 
for  those  who  consecrate  their  lives  to  the  sacred 
ministry.  "  There  are  eunuchs  who  have  made  them 
selves  such  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake.  He 
who  can  take  it,  let  him  take  it."1  Our  Lord  evi 
dently  recommends  here  the  state  of  celibacy  to  such 
as  feel  themselves  called  to  embrace  it,  in  order  to 
attain  greater  perfection. 

St.  Paul  gives  the  reason  why  our  Saviour  declares 
continency  to  be  a  more  suitable  state  for  His  minis 
ters  than  that  of  matrimony  :  "  He  who  is  unmarried, 
careth  for  the  things  of  the  Lord,  how  he  may  please 
God.  But  he  who  is  married,  is  solicitous  about  the 
things  of  the  world,  how  he  may  please  his  wife,  and 
he  is  divided."2 

Jesus  Christ  manifestly  showed  His  predilection 
for  virginity,  not  only  by  always  remaining  a  Virgin, 
but  also  by  selecting  a  Virgin-Mother,  and  a  Virgin- 
precursor  in  the  person  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and 
by  exhibiting  a  special  affection  for  John  the  Evan 
gelist,  because,  as  St.  Augustine  testifies,  that  Apostle 
was  chosen  a  Virgin,  and  such  he  always  remained. 

Not  only  did  our  Lord  thus  manifest,  while  on 
earth,  a  marked  predilection  for  virgins,  but  He  ex 
hibits  the  same  preference  for  them  in  heaven ;  for, 
the  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand,  who  are  chosen 
to  sing  the  New  Canticle,  and  who  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  He  goeth,  are  all  Virgins,  as  St.  John 
testifies.  (Apoc.  xiv.) 

*  Matt.  xix.  12.  « I.  Cor.  vii.  32,  33. 


CELIBACY,   ETC.  455 

The  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  assures  us  that  he  led 
a  single  life,  and  he  commends  that  state  to  others : 
"  I  say  to  the  unmarried,  and  to  the  widows,  it  is 
good  for  them  if  they  so  continue,  even  as  I."1 

There  is  no  evidence  from  Scripture,  that  any  of 
the  Apostles  were  married  except  St.  Peter.  St. 
Jerome  says  that  if  any  were  married,  they  certainly 
separated  from  their  wives,  after  they  were  called  to 
the  Apostolate.  Even  St.  Peter,  after  his  vocation, 
did  not  continue  with  his  wife,  as  may  be  inferred 
from  his  own  words:  "Behold,  we  have  left  all 
things,  and  followed  Thee." 2  Among  "  all  things  " 
must  be  reckoned  the  fellowship  of  his  wife ;  for,  he 
could  hardly  say  with  truth  that  he  had  left  all 
things,  if  he  did  not  leave  his  wife.  And  our  Saviour 
immediately  afterwards  enumerates  the  wife  among 
those  cherished  objects,  the  renunciation  of  which, 
for  His  sake,  will  have  its  reward.8 

St.  Paul  declares  that  "  a  bishop  must  be  sober, 
just,  holy,  continent." *  And  writing  to  Timothy, 
whom  he  had  consecrated  Bishop,  he  says :  "  Be  thou 
an  example  to  the  faithful  ....  in  charity,  in  faith, 
in  chastity." 6  And  in  another  place,  he  enumerates 
chastity  among  the  virtues  which  should  adorn  the 
Christian  minister :  "  In  all  things,  let  us  exhibit 
ourselves  as  the  ministers  of  God  in  much  patience, 
....  in  chastity."  * 

1  I.  Cor.  vii.  8.          2  Matt.  xix.  27.         '  Ibid.  xix.  29. 
4  Tit.  I  8.  •  I.  Tim.  iv.  12.        6 II.  Cor.  vi.  46. 


456  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Although  celibacy  is  not  expressly  enforced  by 
our  Saviour,  it  is,  however,  commended  so  strongly 
by  Himself  and  His  Apostles,  both  by  word  and 
example,  that  the  Church  felt  it  to  be  her  duty  to 
enforce  it  as  a  law. 

The  discipline  of  the  Church  has  been  exerted 
from  the  beginning,  in  prohibiting  Priests  to  marry 
after  their  ordination.  St.  Jerome  observes  that 
"  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  are  chosen  from  vir 
gins  or  widowers,  or  at  least,  they  remain  perpetu 
ally  chaste  after  being  elevated  to  the  priesthood/' l 
And  to  Jovinian,  he  writes:  "You  certainly  admit 
that  he  cannot  remain  a  bishop  who  begets  children 
in  the  Episcopacy ;  for,  if  convicted,  he  will  not  be 
esteemed  as  a  husband,  but  condemned  as  an  adul 
terer."2  And  again  he  says:  "What  will  the 
churches  of  the  East,  of  Egypt,  and  of  the  Apos 
tolic  See  do,  which  adopt  their  clergy  from  among 
virgins,  or  if  they  have  wives,  they  cease  to  live  as 
married  men."8 

St.  Epiphauius  declares  that  "he  who  leads  a 
married  life  is  not  admitted  by  the  Church  to  the 
order  of  deacon,  priest,  bishop,  or  sub-deacon."  * 

In  the  primitive  days  of  the  Church,  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  vocations  among  the  unmarried,  married 
men  were  admitted  to  sacred  orders,  but  they  were 
enjoined,  as  we  learn  from  various  canons,  to  live 
separated  from  their  wives  after  their  ordination. 

MEp.  ad  Pammach.  *  Adv.  Jovin.,  lib.  L 

*  Adv.  Vigilantium.  *  Hseres.  59,  c.  4. 


CELIBACY,   ETC.  457 

This  discipline,  it  is  true,  was  relaxed  to  Borne 
extent  in  favor  of  a  portion  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Oriental  church,  who  were  permitted  to  live  with 
their  wives,  if  they  happened  to  espouse  them 
before  ordination  ;  but,  like  the  priests  of  the  West 
ern  church,  the  Eastern  clergy  were  forbidden  to 
contract  marriage  after  their  ordination.  It  is  im 
portant  also  to  observe  that  the  unmarried  clergy 
of  the  East  are  held  in  much  higher  esteem  by  the 
people  than  the  married  priests. 

It  cannot  indeed  be  denied  that  at  certain  epochs 
of  the  Church's  history,  especially  in  periods  of  dis 
ordered  society,  there  were  too  many  instances  of  the 
violation  of  clerical  celibacy.  But  the  repeated  vio 
lations  of  a  law  are  no  evidence  of  its  non-existence. 
And  whenever  the  voice  of  the  Church  could  be 
heard,  it  always  spoke  in  vindication  of  the  law  of 
priestly  chastity. 

Let  me  now  call  your  attention  to  the  propriety 
and  advantages  of  clerical  celibacy. 

1st.  The  Priest  is  the  representative  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  continues  the  work  begun  by  his  divine 
Master.  It  is  his  duty  to  preach  the  word,  to  admin 
ister  the  sacraments,  and,  above  all,  to  consecrate  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  to  distribute  the  same 
to  the  faithful.  Is  it  not  becoming  that  a  chaste 
Lord  should  be  served  by  chaste  ministers? 

If  the  Jewish  priests,  while  engaged  in  their  turn, 
in  offering  the  sacrifice  of  animals  in  the  Temple, 
were  obliged  to  keep  apart  from  their  wives,  should 


458  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

not  the  Priests  of  the  New  Law  practise  continual 
chastity,  who  offer  daily  the  sacrifice  of  the  Immac 
ulate  Lamb? 

If  David  and  his  friends  were  not  permitted  to 
eat  the  bread  of  Proposition  till  he  had  avowed  that 
for  the  three  preceding  days  they  had  refrained 
from  women,1  how  pure  in  body  and  soul  should 
be  the  Priest  who  daily  partakes  of  that  living 
Bread  of  which  the  bread  of  Proposition  was  but 
the  type ;  and  if  the  people  at  Mount  Sinai  were 
forbidden  to  come  near  their  wives  for  three  days; 
before  receiving  the  Law,2  should  not  they  abstain 
altogether  whose  office  it  is  to  preach  the  Law  at 
all  times  ? 

Thorndyke,  an  eminent  Protestant  divine,  in  hia 
work  entitled,  Just  Weights  and  Measures,  makes  thti 
following  observation :  "  The  reason  for  single  Ufa 
for  the  clergy  is  firmly  grounded,  by  the  Fathers  and 
canons  of  the  Church,  upon  the  precept  of  St.  Paul, 
forbidding  man  and  wife  to  depart  unless  for  a  time, 
to  attend  unto  prayer  (1  Cor.  vii.  5).  For,  priests 
and  deacons  being  continually  to  attend  upon  occa 
sions  of  celebrating  the  Eucharist,  which  ought  con 
tinually  to  be  frequented ;  if  others  be  to  abstain 
from  the  use  of  marriage  for  a  time,  then  they 
always."  * 

2d.  Writers  frequently  discuss  the  secret  cause  of 
the  marvelous  success  which  marks  the  growth  of 
the  Catholic  Church  everywhere,  in  spite  of  the  most 
formidable  opposition.  Some  ascribe  this  progress 

1  T   Ku>e°  TTL  *  Exod.  rix.  8  Pagp  239 


CELIBACY,   ETC.  459 

to  her  thorough  organization  ;  others  to  the  far-seeing 
wisdom  of  her  chief  pastors.  Without  undervalu 
ing  these  and  other  auxiliaries,  I  incline  to  the  be 
lief  that,  under  God,  the  Church  has  no  tower  of 
strength  more  potent  than  the  celibacy  of  her 
clergy.  The  unmarried  Priest,  as  St.  Paul  ob 
serves  (1  Cor.  vii.),  is  free  to  give  his  whole  time 
undivided  to  the  Lord,  and  can  devote  his  attention 
not  to  one  or  two  children,  but  to  the  entire  flock 
whom  he  has  begotten  in  Christ  Jesus,  through  the 
Gospel ;  while  the  married  minister  is  divided  be 
tween  the  cares  of  his  family  and  his  duties  to  the 
congregation.  "A  single  life,"  says  Bacon,  "doth 
well  with  churchmen  ;  for,  charity  will  hardly  water 
the  ground,  where  it  must  first  fill  a  pool." l 

3d.  The  world  has  hitherto  been  converted  byun^ 
married  clergymen,  and  only  by  them  will  it  con 
tinue  to  be  converted.  St.  Francis  Xavier  and  St. 
Francis  de  Sales  could  not  have  planted  the  faith  in 
BO  many  thousands  of  souls,  if  they  were  accompa 
nied  on  their  journeys  by  their  wives  and  children. 
Of  all  the  gems  that  adorn  the  priestly  diadem,  none 
is  so  precious  and  indispensable  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  as  the  peerless  jewel  of  chastity.  Without 
this  pearl,  the  voice  of  a  Hyaciuthe  "  becomes  as 
Bounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal ;"  with  it,  the 
humblest  missioner  gains  the  hearts  of  multitudes. 

Everybody  is  aware  of  the  numerous  conversions 

1  Essays,  p.  17. 


460  THE    FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

to  Christianity  effected  by  St.  Francis  Xavier  in 
Japan,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  After  the  lapse  of 
many  years  from  the  death  of  St.  Francis,  when  a 
French  squadron  was  permitted  to  enter  the  Japan 
ese  ports,  a  native  Christian,  named  Peter,  having 
learned  that  French  Priests  were  on  board,  put  their 
faith  to  the  test,  by  proposing  to  them  these  three 
questions:  "Are  you  followers  of  the  great  Father  in 
Rome  ?  Do  you  honor  Mary,  the  Blessed  Virgin  ? 
Have  you  wives  ?  "  The  French  Priests  having  satis 
fied  their  interrogator  on  these  points,  and  especially 
on  the  last,  Peter  and  his  companions  fell  at  the 
missioners'  feet,  exclaiming  with  delight :  "  Thanks, 
thanks !  they  are  virgins  and  true  disciples  of  our 
Apostle  Francis."  1 

A  cotemporary  writer  has  wittily  remarked,  that 
"perhaps  the  most  ardent  admirer  of  hymeneal  ritea 
would  cheerfully  admit  that  he  could  not  conceive 
St.  Paul  or  St.  John  starting  on  a  nuptial  tour,  ac 
companied  by  the  latest  fashions  from  Athens  or 
Ephesus,  and  the  graceful  brides  whom  they  were 
destined  to  adorn.  They  would  feel  that  Christian 
ity  itself  could  not  survive  such  a  vision  as  that. 
Nor  could  the  imagination  picture,  in  its  wildest 
moods,  the  majestic  adversary  of  the  Arian  emperor 
attended  in  his  flight  up  the  Nile  by  Mistress  Atha- 
nasius,  nor  St.  John  Chrysostom  escorted  in  his  wan 
derings  through  Phrygia  by  the  wife  of  his  bosom 
arrayed  in  a  wreath  of  orange-blossoms.  Would 

1  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  March,  1868. 


CELIBACY,   ETC.  461 

Ethelbert  have  become  a  Christian,  if  St.  Augustine 
had  introduced  to  him  his  lady  and  her  brides 
maids?"1 

We  frequently  hear  of  unmarried  Bishops  and 
Priests  laying  down  their  lives  for  the  faith  in 
China  and  Corea,  and  imprisoned  in  Germany. 
But  such  heroic  sacrifices  are  too  much  to  be  ex 
pected  from  men  enjoying  the  domestic  luxury,  and 
engrossed  by  the  responsibility  of  a  wife  and  chil 
dren. 

But  does  not  St.  Paul  authorize  the  marriage  of 
the  clergy  when  he  says :  "  Have  we  not  power  to 
carry  about  a  woman,  a  sister,  as  well  as  the  rest  of 
the  Apostles  ? "  2  The  Protestant  text  mistranslates 
this  passage  by  substituting  the  word  wife  for  woman. 
It  is  evident  that  St.  Paul  does  not  speak  here  of 
his  wife,  since  he  had  none ;  but  he  alludes  to 
those  pious  women  who  voluntarily  waited  on  the 
Apostles,  and  ministered  to  them  in  their  missionary 
journeys. 

It  is  also  objected  that  the  Apostle  seems  to  re 
quire  that  a  Bishop  be  "  the  husband  of  one  wife."  * 
The  context  certainly  cannot  mean  that  a  Bishop 
must  be  a  married  man,  for  the  reason  already  given, 
that  St.  Paul  himself  was  never  married.  The  sense 
of  the  text,  as  all  tradition  testifies,  is  that  no  candi 
date  should  be  elected  to  the  office  of  Bishop  who 
had  been  married  more  than  once.  It  was  not  poa 

1  Marshall,  Comedy  of  Convocation.          a  I.  Cor.  ix.  6, 

8  I.  Tim.  iii.  2. 
39* 


462  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

sible  in  those  days  always  to  select  single  men  foi 
the  Episcopal  office.  Hence  the  Church  was  often 
compelled  to  choose  married  persons,  but  always 
with  this  restriction,  that  they  had  never  contracted 
nuptials  a  second  time.  They  were  obliged,  more 
over,  if  not  widowers,  to  live  separated  from  their 
wives. 

Others  adduce  against  clerical  celibacy  these 
words  of  St.  Paul:  "In  the  last  times,  some  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  spirits  of 
error,  ....  forbidding  to  marry."1  But  this  pas 
sage  alludes  to  the  Ebionites,  Gnostics,  and  Mani- 
cheans,  who  positively  taught  that  marriage  is 
sinful.  The  Catholic  Church,  on  the  contrary,  holds 
that  matrimony  is  not  only  a  lawful  state  for  those 
who  are  called  to  embrace  it,  but  that  it  is  also  a 
sacrament,  and  that  the  highest  degree  of  holiness 
is  attainable  in  conjugal  life. 

Some  go  so  far  as  to  declare  continency  imprac 
ticable.  Our  dissenting  brethren  in  the  ministry 
are  so  uxoriously  inclined,  that,  perhaps,  for  this 
reason  they  dispute  the  possibility,  as  well  as  the 
privilege,  of  Priests  to  remain  single.  But  in  making 
this  assertion  they  impugn  the  wisdom  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  Apostle,  who  lived  in  this  state  and 
recommended  it  to  others ;  they  slander  consecrated 
Priests  and  nuns,  and  they  unwittingly  question  the 
purity  of  their  own  unmarried  sisters,  daughters, 
and  sons.  How  many  men  and  women  are  there  in 

lLTim.iv.  1-3. 


CELIBACY,    ETC.  463 

the  world  who  spend  years,  nay,  their  whole  lives, 
in  the  single  state?  And  who  shall  dare  to  accuse 
such  a  multitude  of  incontinency  ? 

Nor  should  any  one  complain  of  the  severity  of 
the  law  of  clerical  celibacy,  since  the  candidate 
voluntarily  accepts  the  obligations  after  mature  con 
sideration. 

Finally,  it  cannot  be  urged  against  celibacy,  that 
it  violates  the  divine  precept  to  "increase  and  mul 
tiply;"  for,  this  command  surely  cannot  require 
all  marriageable  persons  to  be  united  in  wedlock. 
Otherwise,  bachelors  and  spinsters  would  also  be 
guilty  of  violating  the  law.  The  number  of  men 
>ind  women  consecrated  to  God  by  vows  of  chastity 
forms  but  an  imperceptible  fraction  of  the  human 
family,  their  proportion  in  the  United  States,  for 
instance,  being  only  one  individual  to  about  every 
four  thousand.  And,  moreover,  it  is  an  incontro 
vertible  fact  that  the  population  increases  most  in 
those  countries  in  which  the  Catholic  clergy  exercise 
the  strongest  influence  ;  for,  there  married  people  are 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  marriage  was  instituted 
not  for  the  gratification  of  the  flesh,  but  for  the  pro 
creation  and  Christian  education  of  children. 


464  THE  .FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

MATRIMONY. 

MATRIMONY  is  not  only  a  natural  contract  be 
tween  husband  and  wife,  but  it  has  been  elevated 
for  Christians,  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  dignity  of  a  sac 
rament  :  "  Husbands,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  love  your 
wives,  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church  and  delivered 
Himself  up  for  it,  ....  so  also  ought  men  to  love 

their  wives  as  their  own  bodies For  this  cause 

shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall 
adhere  to  his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh. 
This  is  a  great  sacrament :  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and 
in  the  Church.  " l 

In  these  words  the  Apostle  declares  that  the  union 
of  Christ  with  His  Church  is  the  type  or  model  of 
the  bond  subsisting  between  man  and  wife.  Now 
the  union  between  Christ  and  His  Church  is  super 
natural  and  sealed  by  divine  grace.  Hence,  also, 
is  the  fellowship  of  a  Christian  husband  and  wife 
cemented  by  the  grace  of  God.  The  wedded  couple 
are  bound  to  love  one  another  during  their  whole 
lives,  as  Christ  has  loved  His  Church,  and  to  dis 
charge  the  virtues  proper  to  the  marriage  state.  In 
order  to  fulfil  these  duties,  special  graces  of  our 
Saviour  are  required. 

The  Fathers  and  Councils  and  Liturgies  of  the 

^hes.v.  25-32. 


MATRIMONY.  465 

Western  and  the  Oriental  churches,  including  the 
Coptic,  Jacobite,  Syriac,  Nestorian,  and  other  schis 
matic  bodies,  which  for  upwards  of  fourteen  cen 
turies  have  been  separated  from  the  Catholic  com 
munion,  all  agree  in  recognizing  Christian  marriage 
as  a  sacrament. 

Hence  the  Council  of  Trent,  speaking  of  Matri 
mony,  says  :  "  Christ  Himself,  the  Institutor  and  Per- 
fector  of  the  venerable  sacraments,  merited  for  us  by 
His  passion  the  grace  which  might  perfect  that  nat 
ural  love,  and  confirm  that  indissoluble  union,  and 
sanctify  the  married  ;  as  the  Apostle  Paul  intimates, 
saying:  'Husbands,  love  your  wives,  as  Christ  also 
loved  the  Church,  and  delivered  Himself  for  it; '  add 
ing  shortly  after :  '  This  is  a  great  sacrament,  but 
I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the  Church. '  (Ephes.  v.) 
Whereas  therefore  matrimony,  in  the  evangelical 
law,  excels  in  grace,  through  Christ,  the  ancient  mar 
riages  ;  with  reason  have  our  holy  Fathers  and  Coun 
cils  and  the  tradition  of  the  universal  Church,  always 
taught  that  it  is  to  be  numbered  among  the  sacra 
ments  of  the  new  law."  1 

The  Gospel  forbids  a  man  to  have  more  than  on« 
wife,  and  a  wife  to  have  more  than  one  husband. 
"  Have  you  not  read,"  says  our  Saviour,  "  that  He 
who  made  man  in  the  beginning,  made  them  male 
and  female?  And  He  said,  for  this  cause  shall  a 
man  leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto 
his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  in  one  flesh.  Wherefore 

1Sess.  xxiv. 
2K 


466  THE   FAITH   OF  OUR   FATHERS. 

they  are  no  more  two,  but  one  flesh.  " 1  Our  Lord 
recalls  marriage  to  its  primitive  institution,  as  it  was 
ordained  by  Almighty  God  (Gen.  ii.).  Now,  mar 
riage  in  its  primitive  ordinance,  was  the  union  of 
one  man  with  one  woman ;  for,  Jehovah  created  but 
one  helpmate  to  Adam.  He  would  have  created 
more,  if  His  design  had  been  to  establish  polygamy. 
The  Scripture  says  that  "man  shall  adhere  to  his 
wife"  not  his  wives.  It  does  not  declare  that  they 
shall  be  three  or  more,  but  that  "  they  shall  be  two 
in  one  flesh. " 

Hence  Mormonism,  unhappily  so  prevalent  in  the 
United  States,  is  at  variance  with  the  plain  teachings 
of  the  Gospel,  and  is  consequently  condemned  by 
the  Catholic  Uhurch.  Polygamy,  wherever  it  exists, 
cannot  fail  to  be  a  perpetual  source  of  family  discord 
and  feuds.  It  fosters  deadly  jealousy  and  hate 
among  the  wives  of  the  same  household  ;  it  deranges 
the  laws  of  succession  and  primogeniture,  and  breeds 
rivalry  among  the  children,  each  endeavoring  to  sup 
plant  the  other  in  the  affections  and  the  inheritance 
of  their  common  father. 

Marriage  is  the  most  inviolable  and  irrevocable 
of  all  contracts  that  were  ever  formed.  Every  hu 
man  compact  may  be  lawfully  dissolved  but  this. 
Nations  may  be  justified  in  abrogating  treaties  with 
each  other ;  merchants  may  dissolve  partnerships ; 
brothers  will  eventually  leave  the  paternal  roof,  and 
separate  from  one  another,  like  Jacob  and  Esau. 

1  Matt.  xix.  4-6. 


MATRIMONY.  467 

Friends,  like  Abraham  and  Lot,  may  be  obliged  to 
part  company.  But  by  the  law  of  God,  the  bond 
uniting  husband  and  wife  can  be  dissolved  only  by 
death.  No  earthly  sword  can  sever  the  nuptial  knot 
which  the  Lord  has  tied  ;  for,  "  what  God  hath  joined 
together,  let  not  man  put  asunder. " 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  three  of  the  Evange 
lists,  as  well  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  proclaim 
the  indissolubility  of  marriage,  and  forbid  a  wedded 
person  to  engage  in  second  wedlock  during  the  life 
of  his  spouse.  There  is  scarcely  indeed  a  moral  pre 
cept  more  strongly  enforced  in  the  Gospel  than  the 
indissoluble  character  of  marriage  validly  contracted. 

The  Pharisees  came  to  Jesus,  "  tempting  Him,  and 
saying :  Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife 
for  every  cause  ?  Who,  answering,  said  to  them : 
Have  ye  not  read  that  He  who  made  man  from  the 
beginning,  made  them  male  and  female?  And  He 
said :  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife,  and  they  two 
shall  be  one  flesh.  Therefore  now  they  are  not  two, 
but  one  flesh.  What  therefore  God  hath  joined  to 
gether,  let  no  man  put  asunder.  They  say  to  Him : 
Why  then  did  Moses  command  to  give  a  bill  of 
divorce  and  to  put  away  ?  He  saith  to  them  :  Be 
cause  Moses,  by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  your 
heart,  permitted  you  to  put  away  your  wives ;  but 
from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so.  And  I  say  to 
you,  that  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except 
it  be  for  fornication,  and  shall  marry  Another,  com- 


468  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR  FATHERS. 

mitteth  adultery :  and  lie  that  shall  marry  her  that 
is  put  away,  committeth  adultery." l  Our  Saviour 
here  emphatically  declares  that  the  nuptial  bond  is 
ratified  by  God  Himself,  and  hence"  that  no  man, 
nor  any  legislation  framed  by  men,  can  validly  dis 
solve  the  contract. 

To  the  Pharisees  interposing  this  objection,  if 
marriage  is  not  to  be  dissolved,  why  then  did  Moses 
command  to  give  a  divorce,  our  Lord  replies  that 
Moses  did  not  command,  but  simply  permitted  the 
separation,  and  that  in  tolerating  this  indulgence, 
the  great  lawgiver  had  regard  to  the  violent  passion 
of  the  Jewish  people,  who  would  fall  into  a  greater 
excess,  if  their  desire  to  be  divorced  and  to  form  a 
new  alliance  were  refused.  But  our  Saviour  re 
minded  them  that  in  the  primitive  times  no  such 
license  was  granted. 

He  then  plainly  affirms  that  such  a  privilege 
would  not  be  conceded  in  the  New  Dispensation  ;  for, 
He  adds :  "  I  say  to  you  :  whosoever  shall  put  away 
his  wife,  and  shall  marry  another,  committeth  adul 
tery."  Protestant  commentators  erroneously  assert 
that  the  text  justifies  an  injured  husband  in  separat 
ing  from  his  adulterous  wife,  and  in  marrying  again. 
But  the  Catholic  Church  explains  the  Gospel  in  the 
sense  that,  while  the  offended  consort  may  obtain  a 
divorce  from  bed  and  board  from  his  unfaithful 
wife,  he  is  not  allowed  a  divorce  a  vinculo  matrinionii, 
BO  as  to  have  the  privilege  of  marrying  another. 

1  Matt.  xix.  3-9. 


MATRIMONY.  469 

This  interpretation  is  confirmed  by  the  concurrent 
testimony  of  the  Evangelists  Mark  and  Luke,  and 
by  St.  Paul ;  all  of  whom  prohibit  divorce  a  vinculo, 
without  any  qualification  whatever. 

In  St.  Mark  we  reud  :  "  Whosoever  shall  put  away 
his  wife  and  marry  another,  cornmitteth  adultery 
against  her.  And  if  the  wife  shall  put  away  her 
husband  and  be  married  to  another,  she  cornmitteth 
adultery."  1 

The  same  unqualified  declaration  is  made  by  St. 
Luke  :  "  Every  one  that  putteth  away  his  wife  and 
marrieth  another,  committeth  adultery ;  and  he  that 
marrieth  her  that  is  put  away  from  her  husband, 
committeth  adultery."  2  Both  of  these  Evangelists 
forbid  either  husband  or  wife  to  enter  into  second 
wedlock,  how  aggravating  soever  may  be  the  cause 
of  their  separation.  And  surely,  if  the  case  of  adul 
tery  authorized  the  aggrieved  husband  to  marry 
another  wife,  those  inspired  penmen  would  not  have 
failed  to  mention  that  qualifying  circumstance. 

Passing  Horn  the  Gospels  to  the  Epistle  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  we  find  there  also  an  un 
qualified  prohibition  of  divorce.  The  Apostle  is 
writing  to  a  city  newly  converted  to  the  Christian 
religion.  Among  other  topics,  he  inculcates  the 
doctrine  of  the  Church  respecting  Matrimony.  We 
must  suppose  that  as  an  inspired  writer  and  a  faith 
ful  minister  of  the  Word,  he  discharges  his  duty 
conscientiously,  without  suppressing  or  extenuating 

1  Mark  x.  11,  12.  a  Luke  xvi.  18. 

40 


470  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

one  iota  of  the  law.  He  addresses  the  Corinthians 
as  follows :  "  To  thorn  that  are  married,  not  I,  but 
the  Lord  commandeth  that  the  wife  depart  not  from 
her  husband.)  And  if  she  depart,  that  she  remain 
unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to  her  husband.  And 
let  not  the  husband  put  away  his  wife."  l  Here  we 
find  the  Apostle,  in  his  Master's  name,  commanding 
the  separated  couple  to  remain  unmarried,  without 
any  reference  to  the  case  of  adultery.  And  if  such 
an  important  exception  existed,  St.  Paul  would  not 
have  omitted  to  mention  it;  otherwise  he  would 
have  rendered  the  Gospel  yoke  more  grievous  than 
its  Founder  intended. 

We  must  therefore  admit  that,  according  to  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  conjugal  infidelity  does  not 
warrant  either  party  to  marry  again,  or  we  are 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  vast  number  of 
Christians  whose  knowledge  of  Christianity  was  de 
rived  solely  from  the  teachings  of  Saints  Mark, 
Luke,  and  Paul,  were  imperfectly  instructed  in 
their  faith. 

Nor  can  we  suppose  that  St.  Matthew  gave  to  the 
married  Christians  of  Palestine  a  privilege  which 
St.  Paul  withheld  from  the  Corinthians  ;  for  then 
the  early  Christian  Church  might  have  witnessed 
the  disedifying  spectacle  of  aggrieved  husbands 
seeking  in  Judea  for  a  divorce  from  their  adulterous 
wives  which  they  could  not  obtain  in  Corinth ;  just 
as  discontented  spouses,  in  our  times,  sue  in  a  neigh- 

1 1.  Cor.  vii.  10,  11. 


MATRIMONY.  471 

boring  State  for  a  legal  separation  which  is  denied 
them  in  their  own.  Christ  is  not-divided,  nor  do  the 
Apostles  contradict  each  other. 

The  Catholic  Chureh,  following  the  light  of  the 
Gospel,  forbids  a  divorced  man  to  enter  into  second 
espousals  during  the  life  of  his  former  partner.  This 
is  the  inflexible  law  she  first  proclaimed  in  the  face 
of  Pagan  emperors  and  people,  and  which  she  has 
ever  upheld,  in  spite  of  the  passions  and  voluptuous 
ness  of  her  own  rebellious  children. 

Henry  VIII.,  once  an  obedient  son  and  defender 
of  the  Church,  conceived,  in  an  evil  hour,  a  criminal 
attachment  for  Anne  Boleyn,  a  lady  of  the  queen's 
household,  whom  he  desired  to  marry  after  being 
divorced  from  his  lawful  consort,  Catherine  of  Arra- 
gon.  But  Pope  Clement  VII.,  whose  sanction  he  so 
licited,  sternly  refused  to  ratify  the  separation,  though 
the  Pontiff  could  have  easily  foreseen  that  his  de 
termined  action  would  involve  the  Church  in  perse 
cution,  and  a  whole  nation  in  the  unhappy  schism 
of  its  ruler.  Had  the  Pope  acquiesced  in  the  repu 
diation  of  Catherine,  and  in  the  marriage  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  England  indeed  would  have  -been  spared 
to  the  Church,  but  the  Church  herself  would  hav^ 
surrendered  her  peerless  title  of  Mistress  of  Truth. 
When  Napoleon  I.  repudiated  his  devoted  wife, 
Josephine,  and  married  Marie  Louise  of  Austria,  s© 
well  assured  was  he  of  the  fruitlessness  of  his  at 
tempt  to  obtain  from  the  Holy  See  the  sanction  of 
his  divorce  and  subsequent  marriage,  that  he  did  not 
even  consult  the  Holy  Father  on  the  subject. 


472  THE  FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

A  few  years  previously,  Napoleon  appealed  to 
Pius  VII.  to  annu.4  the  marriage  which  his  brother 
Jerome  had  contracted  with  Miss  Patterson  of  Bal 
timore.  The  Pope  sent  the  following  reply  to  the 
Emperor :  "  Your  majesty  will  understand  that  upon 
the  information  thus  far  received  by  us,  it  is  not  in  our 
power  to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  nullity.  We  can 
not  utter  a  judgment  in  opposition  to  the  rules  of 
the  Church,  and  we  could  not,  without  laying  aside 
those  rules,  decree  the  invalidity  of  a  union  which, 
according  to  the  Word  of  God,  no  human  power  can 
sunder." 

Christian  wives  and  mothers,  what  gratitude  you 
owe  to  the  Catholic  Church  for  the  honorable 
position  you  now  hold  in  society !  If  you  are  no 
longer  regarded  as  the  slave,  but  the  equal  of  your 
husband  ;  if  you  are  no  longer  the  toy  of  his  caprice, 
and  liable  to  be  discarded  at  any  moment,  like  the 
women  of  Turkey  and  the  Mormon  wives  of  Utah ; 
but  if  you  are  recognized  as  the  mistress  and  queen, 
of  your  household,  you  owe  your  emancipation  to 
the  Church.  You  are  especially  indebted  for  your 
liberty  to  the  Popes  who  rose  up  in  all  the  majesty 
of  their  spiritual  power  to  vindicate  the  rights  of 
injured  wives  against  the  lustful  tyranny  of  their 
husbands. 

How  opposite  is  the  conduct  of  the  fathers  of  the 
go-called  Reformation,  who,  with  the  cry  of  religious 
reform  on  their  lips,  deformed  religion  and  society 
by  sanctioning  divorce. 


MATRIMONY.  473 

Henry  VIII.  was  divorced  from  his  wife,  Cathe 
rine,  by  Cranmer,  the  first  Reformed  Primate  of 
England. 

Luther  and  his  colleagues,  Melanchthon  and  Bucer, 
permitted  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  have  two 
wives  at  the  same  time.1 

Karlstadt,  another  German  Reformer,  justified 
polygamy.2 

And  modern  Prussia  is  reaping  the  bitter  fruits 
of  the  seeds  that  were  then  sown  within  its  borders. 
Seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  marriages  now  con 
tracted  outside  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Berlin, 
are  performed  without  any  religious  ceremony  what 
ever.  A  union  not  bound  by  the  strong  ties  of  re 
ligion  is  easily  dissolved. 

This  subject  excites  a  painful  interest  in  our  own 
country,  in  consequence  of  the  facility  with  which 
divorce  from  the  marriage  bond  is  obtained  in  many 
of  our  States.  We  have  here  another  exemplifica 
tion  of  the  dangerous  consequences  attending  a  pri 
vate  interpretation  of  the  sacred  text.  When  Luther 
and  Calvin  proclaimed  to  the  world  that  "  it  was 
not  wise  to  prohibit  the  divorced  adulterer  from 
marrying  again,"3  they  little  dreamed  of  the  fruitful 

1  Bossuet,  Variations,  Vol.  I.  2  Audin,  p.  339. 

8  American  Cyclop.,  art.  Divorce.  Our  Saviour  declares 
that  he  who  raarrieth  an  adulteress,  comraitteth  adultery.  Yet 
Luther  and  Calvin  declare  that  it  is  unwise  to  oppose  such  a 
marriage.  But  "the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men." 
And  Wisdom  has  said:  "I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise."  (I.  Cor.  i.) 
40* 


474  THE   FAITH   OF   OUR   FATHERS. 

progeny  which  was  destined  before  long  to  spring 
from  this  isolated  monster  of  their  creation.  There 
are  already  about  thirty  causes  which  allow  the  COD- 
jugal  tie  to  be  broken,  some  of  which  are  of  so 
trifling  a  nature  as  to  provoke  merriment,  were  it 
not  for  the  gravity  of  the  subject,  which  is  well  cal 
culated  to  excite  alarm  for  the  moral  and  social 
welfare  of  our  country. 

Persons  are  divorced  by  the  courts  not  only  for 
infidelity,  but  also  without  even  the  shadow  of  Scrip 
ture  authority,  for  alleged  cruelty,  intemperance, 
desertion,  prolonged  absence,  mental  incapacity,  sen 
tence  to  the  penitentiary,  incompatibility  of  temper, 
and  such  other  causes  as  the  court,  in  its  discretion, 
may  deem  sufficient. 

For  the  year  ending  June,  1874.  seventeen  hun 
dred  and  forty-two  applications  for  divorce  were 
presented  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  And  if  such  is 
Ohio's  record,  what  must  be  the  matrimonial  con 
dition  of  Indiana,  which  is  called  the  paradise  of 
discontented  spouses. 

In  Connecticut  there  were,  in  1875,  four  thousand 
three  hundred  and  eighty-five  marriages,  and  four 
hundred  and  sixty-six  divorces  from  the  marriage 
bond.  The  number  of  divorces  obtained  in  the 
same  State  during  the  last  fifteen  years,  has  reached 
five  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-one.  And 
this  is  the  record  of  a  State  whose  public  school 
system  is  considered  the  most  thorough  and  perfect 


MATRIMONY.  475 

in  the  country.  The  statistics  given  of  Ohio  and 
Connecticut  will  enable  us  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
fearful  catalogue  of  divorces  annually  obtained  in 
the  United  States. 

There  are  some  who  regard  the  Catholic  Church 
as  too  severe  in  proclaiming  the  absolute  indissolu- 
bility  of  marriage.  But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  it  is  not  the  Church,  but  the  divine  Founder  of 
the  Christian  religion,  that  has  given  us  the  law. 
She  merely  enforces  its  observance. 

But  the  law,  how  rigorous  soever,  is  mercy  itself, 
when  compared  with  the  cruel  consequences  which 
toilow  from  the  easy  concession  of  divorce. 

The  facility  with  which  marriage  is  annulled  is 
most  injurious  to  the  morals  of  individuals,  of  the 
family,  and  of  society. 

It  leads  to  ill-assorted  and  hasty  marriages,  be 
cause  persons  are  less  circumspect  in  making  a  com 
pact  which  may  be  afterwards  dissolved  almost  at  will. 
It  stimulates  a  discontented  and  unprincipled  husband 
or  wife  to  lawlessness,  quarrels,  and  even  adultery, 
well  knowing  that  the  very  crime  will  afford  a  pre 
text  and  legal  grounds  for  a  separation.  It  en 
genders  between  husband  and  wife  fierce  litigations 
about  the  custody  of  their  offspring.  It  deprives 
the  children  of  the  protecting  arm  of  a  father,  or 
the  gentle  care  of  a  mother,  and  too  frequently  con 
signs  them  to  the  cold  charity  of  the  world ;'  for  the 
married  couple  who  are  wanting  in  conjugal  love  for 
one  another  are  too  often  also  destitute  of  parental 


476  THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

affection.  In  a  word,  it  brings  into  the  household  a 
blight  and  desolation  which  neither  wealth  nor  lux 
ury  can  repair. 

There  is  but  one  remedy  to  this  social  distemper ; 
and  that  is  an  absolute  prohibition  of  divorce  a  vin 
culo,  in  accordance  with  the  inflexible  rule  of  the 
Gospel  and  of  the  ancient  Church.  In  Catholic 
countries  divorces  are  exceedingly  rare,  and  are  ob 
tained  only  by  such  as  have  thrown  off  the  yoke  of 
the  Church.  And  if  the  sacred  laws  of  Matrimony 
are  still  happily  observed  by  so  large  a  portion  of 
the  Protestant  community,  the  purity  of  morals  is  in 
no  small  measure  due  to  the  presence  among  them 
of  the  Catholic  religion,  which  exercises  a  beneficial 
influence  even  over  those  who  are  outside  the  pale 
of  her  communion,  like  the  sun,  whose  benignant 
light  and  heat  are  felt  even  in  those  secluded  spots 
which  his  rays  can  but  dimly  penetrate. 


INDEX. 


A  BSTINENCE,  on  Friday,  20. 
**•  Angels,  assist  us  by  their  pray 
ers,  184,  et  seq. 

Apostles,  authority  given  to,  22. 
Apostolicity,  falseness  of  Protestant 

claims  to,  68. 
Proved  by  early  Fathers,  70. 

BAPTISM,  sacrament  of,  308. 
Infant,  308. 

Necessity  of,  310. 

Effects  of,  315. 

Modes  of,  317. 
Bartholomew,  St.,  facts  concerning 

massacre  of,  297. 
Bible,  how  used  by  the  Jews,  97. 

Christ's  teaching  concerning,  99. 

Christ  did  riot  intend  dissemina 
tion  of,  101. 

Protestant  theory  and  practice  at 
variance  concerning,  102. 

Protestants  cannot  accept  as  suffi 
cient  guide,  103. 

Not  accessible  to  primitive  Chris 
tians,  105. 

Difficulties  of  interpreting,  107. 

Consequences  of  private  inter 
pretation  of,  108. 

All  truths  necessary  to  be  be 
lieved  not  found  in,  111. 

The  Church  the  guardian  of,  112. 

Popes  the  guardians  of,  113. 

First  editions  of,  114. 

Use  made  by  Catholics  of,  116.    ' 


pARROLL,  CHARLES,  friend  of 
\J    religious  liberty,  276. 
Catholicity,  not  found  outside  of 

the  Roman  Church,  52. 
Celibacy,  of  clergy,  453. 

Christ  and  His  Apostles  approve, 
454. 

Ancient   discipline    concerning, 

,  456. 

Propriety  and  advantages  of,  457. 

Objections  answered  as  to.  461. 
Ceremonies,  dictated  by  reason,  365. 

Approved  by  God  in  Old  Law, 
367. 

Sanctioned    by  Christ   in    New 
Law,  368. 

Acknowledged  influence  of,  371. 

Of  the  Mass,  372. 
Church,  marks  of  true,  23. 

Unity  of,  23. 

Figures  of,  25. 

Holiness  of,  35. 

Catholicity  of,  50. 

Numerical  strength  of,  56. 

Apostolicity  of,  58. 

Departure  of   Protestants  from 
teachings  of  primitive,  60. 

Perpetuity  of,  71. 

Indestructibility  of,  72. 

Futility  of  schemes  for  destruc 
tion  of,  78. 

Infallible  authority  of,  85. 

Bible  and,  97. 

Present  state  in  Europe  of,  280. 
477 


478 


INDEX. 


Communion,  under  one  kind,  341. 
Under  one  kind,  Luther's  teach 
ing  as  to,  343. 
Under  one  kind,  practice  of  early 

Church  as  to,  345. 

Confession,  necessity  and  advan 
tages  of,  393. 
The  origin  of,  399. 
Protestant  teaching  with  regard 

to,  403. 

Confirmation,  sacrament  of,  320. 
Testimony  of  early  Fathers  as 

to,  323. 

Protestant,  326. 
Council  of  Trent,  48. 

Vatican,  55. 
Councils,  number  of  Ecumenical, 

138. 

Cross,  veneration  and  early  use  of, 
21. 


DEAD,  prayers  for,  248.     * 
The  Old  Testament  sanctions 

prayers  for,  249. 
Christ    sanctions     prayers    for, 

250. 
Teaching  of  the  Fathers  as  to 

prayers  for,  252. 
The  ancient    Liturgies   contain 

prayers  for,  257. 
The  eastern  sects  all  use  prayers 

for,  258. 
The  Jews,  even  to  this  day,  use 

prayers  for,  259. 
Divorce,  Church's  teaching  as  to, 

468. 

Of  Henry  VIII,  471. 
Of  Napoleon,  471. 
A  Reformer  sanctioned,  473. 
Alarming  frequency  of,  473. 
Evils    of   facility  in    obtaining, 

475. 
Dogma,  new  definitions  of,  30. 


ELIZABETH.persecutions  under, 
300. 

Eucharist,  Holy,  327. 
Promise  of,  328. 
Institution  of,  332. 
Eucharist,  apostolic  teaching  as  to, 

336. 
The  Father's  teaching  as  to,  339. 

FAITH,  progress  in,  33. 
Flowejs,  use  of,  381. 

GOD,  nature  and  attributes  of,  19. 
Grace,  303. 
Guide,  characteristics  of  a  sure,  105. 

ILLEGITIMACY,  in  Catholic  and 
-L    Protestant  countries,  424. 
Images,  veneration  of,  232. 

First  crusade  against,  233. 

Teaching  of  the  Church  as  to,  235. 

Teaching  of  Leibnitz  (Protestant) 
as  to,  236. 

A  Protestant  theologian's  defence 
of,  239. 

Advantages  of,  241. 
Incense,  use  of,  381. 
Indulgences,  427. 

Authority  of  Scripture  for,  428. 

Pope  Leo's  Bull  of,  433. 

Protestants  promise,  435. 

Council  of  Trent  on,  436. 
Infallibility,    of    Church,    proved 
from  Scripture,  86. 

Consequences  of  denying,  91. 

Meaning  of,  94. 

Explanation  of   term    "Papal," 
145. 

An  official  prerogative,  147. 

Scripture  grounds  for,  150. 

Acts    of  Councils    indicate    the 
Pope's,  153. 

Instances  of  the  exercise  of,  157. 

The  Pope  the  true  source  of,  159. 


INDEX. 


479 


Infallibility,  objections  answered  as 

to,  159. 

Inquisition,  Spanish,  284. 
Church  not  responsible  for  cruel 
ties  of,  2:il. 

Origin  and  true  nature  of,  291. 
A  political  institute,  293. 
Catholic  prelates  under  ban  of, 

295. 
Popes  thwarted  the  operations 

of,  295. 
Popes  protected  fugitives  from, 

296. 
Invocation  of  Saints,  181. 

T  AFAYETTE,  friend  of  religious 
JJ    liberty,  276.     ' 
Latin,  why  Church  uses,  375. 
Leibnitz,  on  confession,  414. 
On  extreme  unction,  439. 
Liberty,  religious  and  civil,  264. 
Catholic  doctrine  as  to,  265. 
Council  of  Toledo  on  religious, 

266. 

Fenelon's  letter  on  religious,  267. 
The  great  theologian  Becanus  oil, 

269. 

Church  defends  civil,  270. 
St.  Ambrose  champion  of  civil, 

271. 
Maryland  the  only  colony  that 

tolerated  religious,  272. 
Decree  of  General  Assembly  of 

Maryland  as  to,  274. 
Distinguished  Catholic  defenders 

of,  276. 

Lights,  use  of,  379. 
Luther,  sanctioned  polygamy,  473. 

MAGNA     CHARTA,    work    of 
Catholics,  272. 
Mary  (the  Blessed  Virgin),  divine 

maternity  of,  198. 
.   Perpetual  virginity  of,  200. 


Mary,  Immaculate  conception  of, 

203. 
Dignity  of,   proclaimed    in    the 

Gospel,  204. 
Worthy  of  honor,  214. 
Various  modes  of  honor  justi 
fied,  216. 

Why  we  invoke  her,  222. 
Influence  of  her  example,  228. 
Maryland,  home  of   religious  lib 
erty,  272. 

Mass,  sacrifice  of,  349. 
Meaning  of  word,  354. 
What  it  is,  355. 
Apostolic  origin  of,  358. 
Sacrifice    of    thanksgiving    and 

propitiation,  362. 
Ceremonies  of,  372. 
Matrimony,  sacrament  of,  464. 
Christ's  teaching  as  to,  467. 
Apostles'  teaching  as  to,  469. 
Indissoluble,  469. 
Missal,  the,  373. 

Morality    between    Catholics   and 
Protestants,  relative,  421. 

NAPOLEON,  why  an  enemy  of 
the  Church,  279. 
Divorce  of,  471. 

PENANCE,  divine  institution  of, 
385. 
Persecution,  Reformers  instituted, 

286. 

Puritans  instituted,  288. 
Ever- existing  social,  289. 
Under  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  300. 
Peter,  primacy  of,  117. 

First  Bishop  of  Rome,  130. 
Pius  IX.,  178. 
Pope,  supremacy  of,  132. 
The  world  converted  by  emissa 
ries  of,  139. 
Infallibility  of,  145. 


480 


INDEX. 


Pope,  relations   between  General 

Councils  and,  153. 
Temporal  power  of,  162. 
Power,  how   the    Popes    acquired 

temporal,  162. 
Validity  and   justice  of  Pope's 

tempo-al,  1G9. 
Pope's  use  of,  170. 
Purgatory,  248. 
St.  Paul's  teaching  concerning, 

250. 

Puritans,  intolerance  of,  275. 
Priesthood,  dignity  of,  440. 
Titles  of,  444. 
Obligations  of,  449. 
Primacy,  117. 
Proofs  from  Old  Testament  of. 

118. 
Proofs  from  political  and  social 

economy,  119. 

Effects  of  the  absence  of,  121. 
Promise  of,  122. 
Fulfilment  of  promise  of,  124. 
Exercise  of,  126. 
Objections  answered,  as  to,  128. 

"DEFORMATION,  mode  of  effect- 
J&    ing  true,  47. 
Reformers,  true,  48. 

False,  49. 
Rome,  Peter  first  Bishop  of,  130. 

What  the  Popes  have  done  for, 

176. 
Rousseau,  on  confession,  414. 

SACRAMENTS,  the  seven,  304. 
Saints,  invocation  of,  182. 
Saints,  Scripture  teaching  regard 
ing,  184. 
Assist  us  by  prayers,  186. 


!  Saints,  we  are  remembered  by,  183. 

We  do  not  dishonor  God  by  in 
voking,  193. 
Sanctity,  motives  of,  37. 

Fruits  of,  42. 

Means  of,  40. 

Occasional  scandals  do  not  impair 

the  Church's,  47. 

Sects,  origin  of  various  Protestant, 
64. 

Tabular  statistics  regarding,  67. 
Sin,  original,  305. 

Power  conferred  by  Christ  of  re 
mitting,  390. 

Teaching  of  the  Fathers,  as  to 

remission  of,  393. 
Supremacy,  of  Pope,  132. 

Historical    evidence    of   Pope's, 
133. 

Early    Fathers    declare    Pope's, 
137. 

Ecumenical   Councils   declare 
Pope's,  138. 

Striking  historical  point  as  to, 
139. 

UNCTION,  extreme,  437. 
Apostle  St.  James  and  the  early 

Fathers  enjoin,  437. 
Unity,  see  Church. 
Not  impaired  by  doctrinal  defi 
nitions,  30. 

VESTMENTS,  use  of,  382. 
Virginity,  Christ's  predilection 

for,  454. 
Voltaire,  on  confession,  414. 


W 


ATER,  HOLY,  use  of,  372. 


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Faith  of  Our  Fathers — Opinions  of  the  Press. 

"This  work  has  become  so  widely  known,  and  has  received  so 
many  and  such  high  commendations,  that  it  seems  needless  to  speak 
either  of  its  scope  and  plan  or  of  its  merits.  The  copy  before  us  has 
marked  upon  its  title  page  "55th  thousand."  In  addition  to  the 
•number  of  copies  disposed  of  in  this  country,  it  is  in  great  request  in 
Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  Oceanica.  It  is  a  plain,  practical  and 
irenical  exposition  and  vindication  of  the  principal  tenets  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  written  in  simple,  lucid  style,  and  animated  through 
out  by  a  spirit  of  gentleness  and  true  Christian  charity  which  makes 
it  attractive  even  to  those  who  are  hostile  to  Catholicity." 

Catholic  Standard. 

"The  popularity  of  this  exposition  of  the  Catholic  faith  by  the 
venerable  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  this  is 
the  eleventh  edition  and  fifty-fifth  thousand  of  the  volume, 
written  in  a  candid  and  unpolernical  vein,  and  sets  forth  in  a  clear  and 
simple  manner  tr.  :  main  principles  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  the 
arguments  for  their  authenticity."  Providence  Journal. 

"  This  is  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  Archbishop  Gibbons'  great 
work  He  has  added  to  the  original  one  beautiful  chapter  "  which, 
say*  he,  "  it  is  hoped,  will  not  be  less  acceptable  to  his  readers  than 
the  other  portions  of  the  work."  Indeed,  it  is  not.  As  the  work 
now  stands  it  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind  ever  placed  before  any 
public,  and  the  magnificent  sale  of  50,000  copies  already  attained 
is  a  proof  of  its  popularity.  The  good  that  it  may  effect  is  incal 
culable,  and  our  readers  can  aid  by  purchasing  the  book  and  mastering 
its  arguments  for  use  in  the  future  or  else  putting  it  into  the  hands  of 
well-meaning  though  non-Catholic  friends."  Western  Watchman. 

"  We  are  pleased  though  not  surprised  to  learn  that  50,000  copies 
have  already  been  sold.  The  sale  should  double  in  twelve  months, 
for  to  know  the  book  is  to  wish  to  have  it  ever  at  hand,  and  that  is  im 
possible  if  you  have  any  number  of  earnest  non-Catholic  friends,  ex 
cept  you  purchase  the  work  by  the  dozen.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  desig 
nate  the  Faith  of  Our  Fathers  as  the  completes!,  most  compact  and 
poetical  work  of  its  class  in  the  English  language. "-Cath.  Universe. 

"  To  the  sincere  Catholic  and  inquiring  Protestant,  this  plain  ex 
position  of  the  mob,  important  and  controverted  Catholic  dogmas  is  an 
invaluable  aid.  It  seems  to  have  been  written  mainly  for  Protestant 
readers,  but  in  view  of  its  many  excellencies,  we  have  no  doubt  that 
it  will  continue  to  find  its  way  into  every  Catholic  household. 

..Niagara  Index. 

"  Fifty-five  thousand  copies  of  this  work  have  been  sold  within  the 
past  two  years  and  the  demand  continues.  It  is  the  book  for  Catholics 
and  Protestants.  Any  Protestant  reading  it  attentively  must  be  con 
vinced  of  his  error."  Catholic  Columbian. 

"The  llth  Edition  of  this  book  has  just  been  issued,  and  has  been 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a  chapter  on  the  prerogatives  and  sanctity 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Th'  '  ">ok  has  also  been  translated  into  Ger 
man  It  is  one  of  the  most  popular  books  that  has  been  issued  from 
the  Catholic  press  for  a  long  time."  Boston  filot. 

MURPHY  &  Co.  Publishers  and  Catholic  Booksellers,  Baltimore. 


THE  FAITH  OF  OUR  FATHERS. 

Notices  of  the  llth  Revised  and  Enlarged  Edition. 

"It  is  written  in  a  genial,  pleasant  style,  and  abounds  in  illustra 
tions  from  history,  and,  with  all,  is  very  free  from  the  controversial 
spirit  which  is  calculated  to  arouse  antagonism.  It  has  the  appearance 
of  being  written  more  for  Protestant  ears  rather  than  for  those  of 
Catholic  faith.  It  would  be  well  for  controversialists  in  religion 
always  to  remember  what  the  author  of  the  present  volume  seems  so 
fully  to  have  understood,  that  denunciation  and  sharp  retort,  admissi 
ble  in  politics,  is  never  in  place  in  religious  discussion.  While  we 
may  not  agree  with  the  tenets  of  the  book,  we  will  freely  accord  to  the 
discussion  upon  its  pages  Christian  courtesy,  plausible  argument  and 
learning."  Chicago  Inter  Ocean. 

"  It  was  worthy  of  the  august  prelate,  who  occupies  the  first  See  of 
the  United  States,  the  Most  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  Archbishop  of  Bal 
timore,  to  offer  to  the  American  public  a  complete  exposition  as  well 
as  a  victorious  defence  of  Catholic  doctrine;  and  he  has  done  so,  not 
only  with  the  authority  of  his  high  position,  but  also  with  a  remarka 
ble  talent,  that  has  had  its  influence  on  the  minds  of  believers  as  well 
as  of  doubters  and  hesitators.  Hence,  hi  3  book  has  had  already  a 
very  wide  circulation.  The  ' Faith  of  Our  Fathers  '  is  a  work  still  new, 
and  has  already  attained  a  circulation  of  more  than  50,000,  and  it  is 
still  in  demand.  In  one  word,  it  is  the  greatest  success  of  its  kind 
that  we  know  in  the  United  States."— N.  0.  Propagateur  Catholique. 

"A  new  edition  of  Archbishop  Gibbons'  very  popular  volume, 
1  The  Faith  of  Our  Fathers,'  has  just  been  issued.  It  is  revised  and 
enlarged  by  a  fuller  development  of  some  points — to  the  extent  of 
about  fifty  pases.  Fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  former  editions  have 
been  sold.  This  is  looked  on  as  a  surprising  success  ;  and,  compared 
with  the  success  of  other  excellent  volumes  of  Catholic  instruction,  it 
is  a  grand  success.  But  what  an  idea  does  this  give  of  the  reading  of 
the  far  larger  part  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States!  Some  people 
talk  of  six  or  eight  millions  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States.  No 
doubt  there  are  at  least  that  many  who  have  been  baptized  as  Catho 
lics,  and  by  Catholics.  But  how  many  of  them  know  their  catechism  ? 
How  many  of  them  know  enough  of  their  religion  to  take  any  interest 
in  understanding  its  doctrines;  much  less  in  spreading  them.  They 
have  gone  to  the  Public  Schools;  and  they  read  the  daily  papers,  and 
they  are  smart  in  finance  or  in  trade.  But  the  finest  Catholic  reading 
is,  for  the  vast  majority  of  them,  as  uninteresting — as  strange — as  if 
Catholic  books  or  journals  were  written  in  Syriac.  That  comes  of 
not  sending  children  to  schools  where  they  are  thoroughly  instructed 
in  their  religion."  A1.  F.  Freeman's  Journal. 

"To  the  Roman  Catholic  it  affords  a  simple  exposition  of  his  faith, 
and  gives  the  reasons  for  many  of  its  practices.  The  general  reader 
desirous  of  getting  a  fair  exposition  of  Catholic  doctrine  from  a  Cath 
olic  stand-point  will  find  it  in  this  little  volume  plainly  and  clearly 
stated.  The  seeker  after  truth  will  think  it  only  reasonable  to  take  a 
view  of  that  doctrine  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  ablest  professors  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith  on  this  continent  rather  than  from  an  un 
friendly,  and  probably  a  prejudiced,  source. — St.  John  (JV.  B.)  Globe. 
MURPHY  &  Co.  Publishers  and  Catholic  Booksellers,  Baltimore. 


BX  1751  .65  1880 

ShC 

Gibbons,  James, 

Cardinal,  1834-1921. 
The  faith  of  our  fathers 

s  being  a  plain 
AJY-5462  (mcab) 


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